Black Snow
by HellaHeron
Summary: The Black Snow virus has removed almost all of humanity, and those that remain are under military law. Anna and Kristoff, infamous smugglers and hit-men, only have few things to keep Anna's little brother, Olaf safe. But now they are forced on a journey together to bring back one particular blonde. But she has a special relationship toward the virus that changes everything.
1. Haven Destroyed

It had been five years since the outbreak of the Black Snow virus. Five years which had more or less forced the earth to a halt. All civilisation was gone, reduced to a flurry of quarantines, curfews and rations. Military Law was at work worldwide. It was a choice to obey, or become infected.

No one truly knew where the virus came from. It originated somewhere in the north, from particularly snowy areas. Bites were the most common cause of infection, but black powder-like spores would also be a culprit. Anyone who was infected, would turn within three days. If caught by the military with any signs of infection, the result was immediate execution.

But the military law wasn't for everyone.

A red-headed girl made her way across the roof tops of the few sky-scrapers remaining in Arendelle; the only city to survive the epidemic for hundreds of miles. Her tasks were different from most people's jobs, mainly because it was completely illegal. She leapt through one of the windows and inside one of the apartments, before finally removing her bag.

"Anna?" A voice called out from the other room. Before she knew it, she was being greeted by a huge St Bernards dog. He ran right toward her, jumping up at first chance. Despite Anna's commands, it insisted upon licking her face. The voice chuckled; the owner of it came out from the other room, being a burly blonde dressed in flannel and baggy, filthy jeans. He looked over to Anna as she struggled with the dog, lending a helping hand by pulling it away.

"Can you keep him under control Kristoff? He does this every time!"

"I keep telling him but he won't listen, will you Sven?" He then held up the dog's paws, flailing them around as he interpreted the dog's voice. _"I'm sorry Kristoff, but she looked like she needed a hug!"_

Anna couldn't help but giggle at his antics; however she became much more serious when she opened her bag, taking out the contents. Several ration cards, some assorted tags and bottle caps, and some tins of food. "I got paid in full. It should be enough to last us four for a fortnight. Nearly got my ass bitten by a Walker though."

"So it was dirty work then? If you had to be near those things..." He sat on the sofa nearby, gesturing her to do so also. "I should have gone with you, I told you not to go alone."

"Oh pssh! I was fine. I'm faster than you so better for those types of jobs." She took her place next to him, sitting down by the huge dog who was tucked into Kristoff's side. "Plus, I needed you here to look after Olaf." Olaf was Anna's younger brother, not much older than ten years old. He and Anna had been travelling together since their father died two years ago. She loved him dearly, so could never risk him being left alone. Going out to get extra ration cards and food was the only way the four could survive and afford a safe place to live in this climate. The two's conversation was being over-heard however, as the small boy stepped out from his bedroom, looking over to the two with wide eyes.

"Anna!" He grinned widely, running as quickly as possible towards his big sister. His arms were flung open, it was clear he only wanted one thing. A warm hug. Anna was thrilled to oblige, opening her own arms and hugging them around the small boy when he was close enough, burrowing her head into his shoulder. This is what she worked for, the love of her sibling. Kristoff may have been her best friend for years, even before the infection began; but Anna cared for her little brother more than anything. She only wanted to ensure his safety. It was worth risking her life every day for it.

* * *

"ALL ARENDALE CITIZENS ARE TO REPORT TO THEIR NEAREST FOOD SUPPLY DEPOT WITH THEIR RATION CARDS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. PLEASE CARRY YOUR IDENTIFICATION CARD AT ALL TIMES." A robotic voice blared out from the megaphones all over the city. It was food collection time, which meant more tins for the group. Up early as always, Anna held little Olaf in her arms as she walked to the depot, followed by Kristoff and the ever loyal Sven. They were close to the front of the queue, only waiting on a family ahead. Anna turned to Kristoff, concerned when seeing the guards.

_What if they recognise me? _She thought, holding Olaf closer to her as they got to the front of the queue. It was then that Kristoff took the lead, holding up the ID cards for him, Anna and Olaf.

"Good afternoon gentlemen! How's the purge for the infected going? It's good to see the amazing progress!

"Very funny Mr Bjorgman. You know we are allowed to legally shoot anyone we think is a potential trouble maker, don't you?" The words meant very little to Kristoff. He and Anna would often be sneaking around them, sometimes even having to resort to killing them in their line of work. This man was no threat. With a chuckle, Kristoff answered his question.

"I was only kidding. Don't get ants in your pants." He then took out three ration cards, handing them to the armoured man through the depot gates. Whilst he had walked away to fetch their food, Kristoff turned to Anna, who wasn't impressed.

"I'd rather risk myself with the Walkers then have you wind up the guards anymore."

"Come on! It's not my fault they're pretty shit at their jobs."

Anna covered her little brother's ears, shooting Kristoff another glare. Swearing may be everywhere these days, but it didn't stop Anna from trying to protect her brother's innocence. Not that he cared, he simple chuckled in her arms, letting out another toothy grin. But Sven was not as happy as the three. His back was arched whilst his fur stood on edge. He was growling loudly toward the gates. Something wasn't right.

"Sven? What's the matter boy?" Kristoff asked, kneeling to his height. But the huge dog erupted into continuous, angry barking. The same guard who had gone to fetch their food for them had returned, running to the gates. He looked down at Sven, glaring lowly.

"Tell that fucking dog to shut u-"

**_BOOM_**

The area behind the gates was engulfed in fire, a force powerful enough to slam the guard into the gate, blowing Anna and Kristoff off their feet. Olaf fell onto Anna's chest, eyes wide in fear as he frantically looked around. But it didn't take a second for Anna to huddle him close again as she got back to her feet. Kristoff was helped up by Sven, groaning in pain. But more panic was yet to come. The guards now had their guns drawn, which meant something was attacking.

_It can't be... Walkers? Here? Oh god... Olaf is in the middle of it with us. _She hugged him closer defensively, backing away from the gates. Even when Kristoff had ran toward them, slamming his fists against the metal.

"Hey! Give us our fucking ration cards! You owe us three ration cards!"

_That man will be the death of us. _Anna ran up to him, managing to grab him and pull him away from the gate. By now the once orderly queue had dispersed into a riot. Everyone was frantically trying to get away. Guards were everywhere with their weapons drawn, looking around the crowds as fast as possible. Anna's could feel her stomach clench as the megaphones sounded a shrill alarm. Not one for infected, but another key alarm.

_The Grit._ Anna knew of this group. She encountered them a lot through her jobs. Often she was paid to steal from them, but killing them never bothered her either. But not here, not while her precious brother was present. "Kristoff, we need to get out of here!" She shouted, managing to pull them away. The dog followed closely to the group, taking lead as he ran ahead through the different alley ways. Of course Anna and Kristoff wouldn't go straight home. That would have been too easy for them. Besides, someone owed them food or ration cards. Kristoff ran ahead to one of the wire fences, lifting it enough for Anna to crawl under with Olaf. He would soon follow. They were in forbidden territory now. Perfect for escaping the huge crowds, but never one hundred percent safe. They continued their walk further through the alleyways, which lead them between many of the old buildings.

"This is bullshit!" Kristoff shouted, kicking a nearby can in rage, before folding his arms tightly against his chest. "What the fuck is The Grit doing here? What good is blowing up the food going to do for them?"

"Well, we could always ask them. Not that they'll be happy to see us, but we know where to go to find the group leader in Arendelle."

Kristoff shot her a confused look, before shaking his head, waving his arms to dismiss her suggestion. "No way. You know what Hans is like, Anna. He's ruthless, arrogant and would steal candy from a baby to get what he wants. We'd get killed."

"Are you just going to let him get away with this? Cause if you don't want to get answers from him, then I'll get them myself." She looked to him sternly, even placing Olaf on the ground. The boy looked up to Kristoff wide-eyed and confused. He didn't know what was going on fully, but he understood the desperation of their situation. Seeking advice, Kristoff turned to his own best friend, Sven. But he too was giving a wide-eyed asking look. Anna had a good point; getting answers was their best option at the moment. What other choice did they have? Sit at home and mope?

"Fine. We'll go see Hans. Maybe he'll tell us why everything is so fucked up here."

* * *

Sneaking past more guards lead them deeper into the outskirts of the city. No citizens by law were allowed here, but this is where the rogues gathered. The grit included. Anna's hand hovered above her pistol at all times. She was uncomfortable here, mainly down to the fact her little brother was present. He stayed by her side at all times, eyes darting at every person they met, each giving them a glare in return. _This might have been a mistake. _She thought, before approaching one final barricade. Like most 'new' structures in this city, it was made using scraps of wood, metal and anything else that would be found. But their symbol was always the same road sign, the Snow sign.

The guard, a huge muscular man wearing a scrap of cloth around his forehead as a headband, looked down at them. He held a large shot gun in his hands, whilst his jacket was loaded with different bombs. _I wouldn't fuck with him... _Was the only thought that went through Anna's mind as she approached. She tried to hide her fear, brushing her braid behind her ears as she looked up to him.

"We're here to see Hans."

The guard's eyebrow lifted. He looked down at her questioningly, leaning in closer as a smirk creeped upon his face.

"Really?" He asked, looking up at Kristoff, Olaf and Sven. He couldn't help but chuckle when his gaze met hers again, lowering his gun a moment. "What makes you think he'd want to see a little pipsqueak like you?"

Anna, by all means, was no pipsqueak. All fear she had left her with that insult. She lowered her body to swipe her leg across the ground, sweeping him off his feet and causing him to slam to the ground. She then drew her own pistol faster than he could grab his shot gun back, aiming it at his head.

"I think he'll want to see me." She said, smirking lowly at him. The man was still in awe of what happened, having been rendered helpless by someone less than his size. Kristoff also was flabbergasted. How the girl managed to do it, he'd never know. But it was always something about her that he'd love. He followed her as she barged her way past the now grounded guard. Even Olaf poked his tongue out at him as he walked by.

* * *

Following the path through the building was simple enough. Anyone inside was here to hide. No one wanted a fuss, so no one bothered them. But both Anna and Kristoff were on edge, along with Olaf, who was tucked into the large dog's side. They were nearing Hans' 'office', it could be told by the increasing amounts of markings on the walls, all of the same snowflake as on the road sign. Sven was growling again, staying close to Olaf to protect him. He was right to fear.

The two were grabbed from behind by two more guards, both holding them in headlocks to prevent escape. Another came to grab Olaf, picking him up and away from the dog, whilst another pinned the barking dog to the ground. Anna flailed in the guard's grasp, kicking and pulling at the guard's arm.

"Put, me, down!" she screeched, not knowing where the group were being taken. The headlock was so tight it was close to strangling her. Attempting escape would be useless. But it wasn't for long. The two were forced into a darkened room, only a single light shining down in the whole room. The two were released in the middle of it, but not before the guard holding Anna took her backpack from her.

"Hey! Give that back!" She shouted, about to try and lunge for the guard. She was stopped by Kristoff, who held her back away from them.

"Anna, look around you, we're out numbered. Now's not the time to be reckless."

She froze, looking around the darkened room. There were at least eight dotted around the room, all looking at the three in the middle. All these men, but not the one they were looking for. Hans was nowhere in sight. But he was within their hearing. His voice echoed around the room, he was obviously making use of the darkened surroundings.

"Anna, Kristoff! So nice you could drop by. I've seen you both running around and wondered when you'd show up." He finally revealed himself, walking into the light. Like the others, he wore scraps of clothing, but on top of that, various parts of armour he had stolen from the military. He held a large rifle in his hands, aiming it toward the two as he spoke. A finger pointed at the guard who now help Anna's backpack, as he commanded. "Empty it."

_No! Our food, apartment keys, rations cards!_ Everything the group owned was within Anna's bag. And this man was now taking all of it from her. She struggled in Kristoff's grip, trying to lunge for the man again. The blonde could barely hold her back, having to lift her into the air to make her stop. It only made Hans chuckle with delight as he stepped closer to the two.

"I think it's only fair I take what's in the bag. After all, you earned most of it killing my men, stealing my things. I knew that little stunt earlier would get your attention." His smirk grew when the guard tossed the now empty bag back in the middle of the group, which Olaf was quick to pick up, cuddling it closely. Hans approached Anna and Kristoff, looking down at them both with a sly smirk. "But, I'm a good man; I have a group to feed. I know how desperation feels. So I'll offer you a chance to get it all back."

Anna gave a cynical stare, looking up at him with glaring eyes. She was at a loss of what to do. Despite hating Hans' group and everything they did, they were now homeless and without any food. If it was just her, it would be an instant no to his request. But she had her little brother hugging at her side, and tugging at her heart strings. _I can't risk him being out in the cold..._

"... Go on." She said reluctantly.

Hans put his hand inside his jacket, pulling out a small Polaroid picture, handing it over to her. Anna took a moment to study it. It was a blurry mugshot image, that of a blonde haired girl. Not much older than herself. Her hair was in a messy braid, all over the place, and she wore cracked glasses. Her gaze looked back upon Hans, who explained to her.

"We need you to bring us this girl. She's on the edge of town, by the main roads that lead to the next city. If you can bring her back to us dead or alive, we'll give you everything back, plus double the rations."

Anna thought about this deeply a moment. It was no different to her usual work. If anything, it was two jobs mashed into one. Kill someone, bring something back. Kill her, bring her back. It would be simple enough for her to do, after all, she had handled bigger men then this girl, not to mention the amount of infected she'd dealt with. There was also Olaf and Kristoff to consider however. Kristoff was good for killing missions, but sneaking? Not his skill at all. Sven just followed him too closely and gave off too much to keep them quiet. Not to mention Olaf would be a burden on them both. But what choice did they have? And with that Anna gave a reluctant nod, forcing the picture into her pocket.

"We'll do it. We'll have her back here in a week."

* * *

**A/N: So this is my first time writing fanfic or really anything in third person. I may write one in Anna's POV to see if that is better, but for now, hope you enjoy this :) Chapter 2 will come at some point soon, featuring Elsa and Marshmallow!**


	2. Hoards of fun

_Homeless in the middle of the city at night. Fucking, great. _Anna thought to herself. The group had been walking since the midday towards the edge of the city, where Hans told them the girl was located. She was still unable to bare the thought of what had just happened. Their home, their 'money', all their food was gone in an instant. And if not for her suggestion to see Hans, none of it would have happened. But they were now forced to walk through the city in the middle of the night. No guards were here to protect them this time.

Olaf constantly walked by Sven's side, finding comfort in the large dog. Not that Sven complained, he enjoyed the company of the boy, often serving as his baby-sitter when the two both needed to go out. Kristoff had his shotgun held up at all times, his eyes darting in all directions whilst he shone his flash light everywhere. "It's too quiet... We haven't seen a single walker since we came out here?"

"Would you rather mess with one right now? I'm pretty glad we haven't seen one to be honest." Anna snapped back at him, before giving a gaze down to Olaf. It was unlikely their journey would be completely uneventful, but for his sake, she hoped it would be. _If anything happens to him because of this..._ She was cut off from her thoughts when she looked at Sven, who was now sniffing at the air. His tail fell between his legs, fur stood on edge, as he let out a deep growling again. The dog turned to look behind them, refusing to move as it stared into the distance. But the two knew what was coming. And it was enough to convince Kristoff to pick up Olaf, who was by now struck with fear. The creature then revealed itself.

A walker was the most basic form of infected, still relatively human in appearance, but any hair had turned white by this point. If viewed up close, the skin would appear pale and grey. Another give away was the eyes, a strikingly bright blue. All the wounds that covered its body were coated in thick, blue, calcium built shells, looking a lot like ice shards. It let out a shrill screech, before running toward the four. There was no time for hesitation, the group turned, running away as fast as they could.

Anna desperately tried to reach for her pistol. While running for her life this was no easy task. She was trying so hard already not to fall over! When she finally gripped it properly she tried to shoot in its direction. But in her hurry she didn't notice the large pipe on the ground in front of her, which had her tripping face first into the ground. But she didn't manage to drop the gun. She rolled over just as the walker was about to jump on her, firing the pistol again multiple times. Finally, just before it reached her, she had shot it straight through its bright blue eye. It fell dead on the ground before her. _Boom. Headshot._

She managed to scramble to her feet again, forcing herself to step away from the creature as quick as possible. A breath she didn't know she was holding was released from her lips when she looked around, scanning for anymore.

"Anna, you ok?" Olaf shouted from Kristoff's arms, having hugged into him the entire time. He was answered by the red-head in the form of a nod as she returned to the group, clicking the pistol to re-load it. She didn't stop to talk, the echo of more screams could be heard in the distance. _The noise must have set them off._

Before she had a chance to catch her breath, more walkers began to run out from the buildings, each screeching loudly upon their approach. This time, Kristoff placed Olaf down onto Sven's back. The dog was huge, he could easily support little Olaf. He signalled Sven to run to safety, before running to Anna, taking his shotgun from his back. They both stood side by side, guns ready. A position they were used to.

"Anna and Kristoff, against the world again!" Kristoff shouted, before firing at a close up walker, the shotgun shell forcing it back instantly with enough power to cause it's death. Anna continuously fired her pistol, managing to hit more in the head before they got close. She couldn't help but smirk at her friend. Despite the fact they could be bitten at any moment, the thrill was all good fun. Until the inevitable click was heard from Anna's pistol.

"Shit." She looked down at her gun, following by patting herself all over. Her heart sank. "I'm out of ammo!"

"Already?! Please say you're joking..." Kristoff looked around worriedly, though he quickly had to run forward to fire at a zombie running up behind her, shooting it right in its chest. He grabbed the redhead's hand, before running with her as quick as possible. The fear that should have appeared long ago was just starting to sink in. A hoard versus only one shotgun and a few melee weapons was a completely hopeless situation. But running wouldn't do much good either when they had nowhere to go.

The blonde looked around as quickly as possible for somewhere, anywhere to hide. But Walkers were running from nearly all directions. But hope was at hand, as Anna pointed up to one of the building windows, able to spot Olaf waving frantically from it. _So that's where Sven took him. God bless that stupid dog._ The small boy had lowered a long extension cord from the window, strong enough for them both to climb up. They didn't hesitate. Kristoff was quick to fire his gun again, punching a hole within the huge zombie group around them, just what they needed for their escape. He jumped for the lead first, quickly hauling himself up and into the room.

"Anna hurry!" The redhead heard her brother shout as she grabbed the wire, quickly climbing out of danger. Until one grasped her foot. She frantically kicked and screamed, trying her best to continue to climb. _No, no no no! Please don't pull me down! _She began to panic, her breath quickening when she could feel herself falling down the chord. Her eyes were wide as she stared at the hoard below her. There were at least twelve walkers all trying to grasp her. If she fell, she would be doomed.

"DUCK!" Her younger brother shouted. Anna quickly looked up, though soon she hugged the chord to be as close to it as possible. Her brother had thrown an old guitar out of the window, barely missing her as it slammed into the walker's head, forcing him to let go. _Fuck fuck fuck fuck! _Anna wasted no time, quickly clawing her way up the chord, only to be pulled in by Kristoff once at the top with so much force she fell on her face inside.

_That was close... Way too close... _Anna's heart felt like it would leap out of her chest. She breathed heavily, only just mustering up enough energy to roll onto her back. She couldn't speak, she had to save her energy to get her breath back. Even Sven was giving her space for once, whimpering at the two.

"_Oh Anna, you were so awesome like my master!" _Kristoff was using his 'Sven voice' again, looking at them both with a grin, unable to help but laugh as he stared back out of the window at the monsters below. By now they had slowly dispersed. They were safe. "We'll be fine here for tonight. We probably have another hours walk tomorrow till we're at the city edge. Then it's time for business."

She wasn't listening. Her heart was still thumping in her chest, so loudly she couldn't focus. _I nearly died. _The thoughts wouldn't stop running through her mind. The redhead had many close shaves before, but never was she actually touched by an infected. Any more power and it would have pulled her into the hoard.

The small boy sat next to her, shaking her arm gently once she had re-gained her breath. His eyes were soft with love for his sister; he had never seen her fight like that before. He lay down next to her, burrowing his head into her side, cuddling her close. She could only repeat the gesture, cuddling him against her as close as she could. She was close to tears. _If you died today he'd have no one. You promised dad you'd look after him, now look at the mess you got him in. _Her thoughts were halted. The boy was looking up at her, able to see the fear in her eyes. All melted away when he smiled at her, saying happily "It's alright sis... I got you."

That was the first restful night sleep had for weeks.

* * *

They started the next day rather early, just as the sun was rising. Bright enough for them to be able to see infected from a mile off, but dark enough to stay out of any regular people's sight. Any survivors out here would likely be scared out of their whit, or mad men. Staying out of sight was always the best option. Sven made an excellent scout dog, running ahead and sniffing the area to make sure it was clear, before signalling them to move. It made getting to the outer areas much easier.

Finally, after a day of travel, they were at the road they needed, staring out to where Hans had described the girl would be; the main toll road out of the city. By now, it was reduced to a scrap yard. Cars upon cars were left abandoned by the road, most growing moss on them. It had been too long since the original panic to escape the infected. Anna remembered it all too well.

But memories of the past would have to wait. She had a job to do. She took her hand from her pocket, pulling out the photo Hans had provided to study it. _A blonde chick with glasses and messy hair. Sounds easy enough._ She handed it over to Kristoff for him to examine, who tilted his head at it. He chuckled, looking back to Anna.

"She sure doesn't look happy in this photo. You know, if she smiled, she'd be kinda cute."

"Stop it Kristoff! Try and focus here." Little Olaf perked up, quickly jumping up to grab the photo away from him. He looked at it closely himself, humming happily as he wandered behind the cars. Anna was distracted, looking up to the road above, wondering where to start looking. She observed the area closely. _The toll booths? No, nowhere to hide there. An old van or truck, maybe... It's just finding one open without setting off car alarms._

Kristoff walked to her side, gazing out at the area with her. He could tell she had an idea, and so tilted her head.

"Come on then, feisty pants. What's the plan?"

"Well... The trucks are probably where I'd be, if I was hiding out here. There's the toll booths which _might_ have some supplies as well, so she could be there."

"Well, supplies might be a good idea to go for first. Maybe we should get Sven to check the area first?"  
Anna nodded in reply, looking toward her friend's companion. He was happy just to be around them, his tail wagging happily despite the stares. Although Anna's face became one of worry as she heard a car alarm sound. Her eyes widened, she realised instantly what that was.

"Olaf!" She ran toward the sound, not giving a second thought as to what could be out there, soon to be followed by the blonde and his canine friend. Olaf had tripped against one of the vehicles, setting the shrill sounding alarm off. He panicked, running as fast as he could from the sound, toward his sister when he found her again. But the noise had attracted an unwanted stare. Not that of a walker this time.

From the back of one of the many vans, a huge hand grasped the side, pulling out the rest of a new kind of beast. A new infected. This beast appeared human, but it's arms and chest were extremely huge, completely coated in the blue calcium build-up. It's hands had morphed into rock hard claws and it's muscular arms were protected by armoured plates. The mutation had caused this beast to be double the size of an average human being. This, was a monster. It looked around a moment, gazing with its shockingly blue eyes. A low growl could be heard from it.

By now the three had ducked down behind a different car, looking out to the beast in pure horror. They had never seen anything like it. Kristoff wasted no time however, taking his gun from his back and loading it.

"Are you completely crazy?! That thing is coated in the shell, there's no way you'll be able to kill it!"

"How else are we gonna get by Anna? If we don't now, it'll hear us later anyway. We might as well get it over with." Before she could respond, he creeped away, keeping low behind the cars. He needed to get closer to get a good shot. Anna looked over worriedly, trying to shout quietly to him.

"Kristoff!"

Her pleas fell on deaf ears when she saw he was close enough. She could only watch as he aimed toward the beast from behind another car. The creature hadn't yet noticed, it just scratching it's head in confusion once the car alarm stopped. It was as if it had already forgotten that any noise had been made. _Easy pickings... _Kristoff thought to himself, smirking as he readied his finger on the trigger, taking his aim then-

**BANG**

A shot was fired, not by Kristoff's gun, but by another. A bullet had hit the car he was hiding behind, setting the alarm off. The sheer surprise made Kristoff leap up, tripping back into yet another two cars. Before the group knew it, there were three alarms sounding at once. This time, the creature readied it's claws. It was able to see Kristoff clearly and it was not at all happy. The loud, inhuman roar was enough to give that away. The blonde simply stared, trying to reach for the gun he had dropped.

**BANG**

Another shot was fired, hitting the ground very close to where Kristoff's gun had landed. _Someone isn't trying to shoot the monster... They're trying to shoot Kristoff! _Anna looked around for the source, only to find it from above. Stood on one of the huge truck containers was a blonde haired girl, wearing a large (too large in fact) cream sweater, skinny-fitted jeans and a backpack. An extension cord was wrapped around her shoulders, acting as another weapon, or at least a climbing device. She wore glasses, and sure enough, her hair was in a messy braid. _That's her! She's the one from the photo!_

"Don't you make another move!" The woman shouted over the alarms, slowly walking to the edge of the container, her hunting rifle aimed at Kristoff at all times. The huge infected was at a standing still, looking back at her occasionally for... guidance? _Why isn't it attacking? Kristoff is right there, right in its sight. Why is she defending it?! _Anna's mind was full of questions, but yet again, Sven's barking had stopped them all. He had leapt up onto one of the other cars to get a look out, and was clearly able to see a hoard of Walkers on their way. Olaf was quick to shout to the blonde man.

"Kristoff! They're coming!"

The blonde man was ready to run, however the huge infected in front of him roared loudly, before using its massive arms to haul itself into the air, landing ahead of Kristoff and towards the hoard. The sight was one to behold. The huge beast was knocking smaller infected away with its massive arms, throwing them far away into walls and other cars; anything to keep them back and away from the truck.

"What the hell is going on?!" Kristoff shouted as he ran back towards Anna, gesturing Sven to follow him closely. Anna could only shake her head. She had no idea what was going on, but they had to get out of there. Thankfully, help was at hand. The blonde woman had lowered a ladder from the roof of the truck container she was on, shouting as loudly as possible.

"Just get up here, hurry!" _What the hell is this girl's problem?! One minute she's trying to kill us, now she's trying to save us?! _But Anna had no time to doubt herself. She ran straight toward the ladder, first lifting Olaf to safety, before climbing up herself. Kristoff soon followed, somehow managing to carry the huge dog with him. Once on top the woman ran to a trap door, letting them inside the container.

"Get in, don't touch anything." She demanded. No one was in the mood to argue. Olaf first climbed down, followed by Anna, and Kristoff with Sven. The container was modified as the perfect safe-house. Not only was it barely noticeable, but it had shelves upon shelves of ammo and food, not to mention the amount of soft blankets in one corner, making up a bed. Anna gazed around a moment, unable to believe their luck. _We can stock up here and stay for a break if we needed to. There's so much in here! _Anna wasn't going to obey the no touching rule. Not when ammo she so desperately needed was within reach. But not yet.

* * *

Soon enough the blonde woman let out a sigh as she climbed inside with them. Anna didn't notice before, but she wore thick work gloves on her hands. It seemed everything apart from her face was covered. _Strange girl._

"They'll be gone soon enough. You'll be on your way in no-" She instantly stopped when turning around, only to see a shotgun aimed at her head. Kristoff was at the other end, looking with a cold stare. He looked down to Olaf, who was holding the picture, looking at it closely. He then looked back up at Kristoff, nodding.

"Yeah, she's the one." The boy was nervous. He didn't like violence, not between infected, and especially not between remaining humans. But the blonde girl was surprisingly calm, her eyes reducing themselves to a half-closed state as she looked to Kristoff. She sighed.

"Oh, cool. I just saved your life and you're aiming a gun in my face. Real nice." She was rather sarcastic, even for someone in this situation. But Kristoff's gun remained in place as he asked.

"How come you were defending that thing?" was the first question that escaped his mouth, but it was followed by many more. "Why didn't it attack me straight away?"

"I don't know about you, _sir_, but I don't particularly think well when I have guns pointed in my face." The girl smirked. It seemed the whole situation amused her, that or she was so used to it she knew how to play it out. But sure enough, it did the trick. Kristoff lowered his weapon, placing it back on her back. This time however, Anna took over the talking.

"Th-Thank you. For saving us, I mean." She was flustered, not knowing how to act. This was the first time talking to any survivors besides Arendelle's city guards and military. But the blonde simply nodded, brushing her messy hair behind her ear.

"Don't mention it. Just don't get comfy." She said in a harsh tone, although she was staring at Olaf most of the time. Mainly at the photo he was holding. It didn't take her long to point it out. "Why the hell have you got a photo of me?"

The redhead didn't know how to respond, she opening her mouth to do so, but the words disappeared from her mouth instantly. _Do I tell her the truth? So she'll kill us right here and now? Or do I tell a lie of so-_

"The Grit sent us. They want you back in their base. Dead or alive." Kristoff blurted folding his arms when he noticed the smirk grow even more on the girls face, eventually erupting into laughter. "That's funny to you?"

"The Grit? Really, they've been trying to get me for months now. Frankly that's the only reason I don't get out of this dump." Her smirk began to vanish when she looked back at the three, down at Olaf in particular. Her harsh stare seemed to soften when looking at him. So young, so innocent. No one belonged here, especially not someone like him. She looked back up at Anna, tilting her head questioningly. "Humour me, how much are they paying you to get me?"

Anna looked down, brushing her hair back against her ear nervously. "Double of everything we had. At least fifty ration cards, Ten cans of food, and our apartment."

The girl let out a whistle. A whistle that said 'that's a lot.' She re-adjusted her glasses a moment, whilst she leant against the walls of the container, clearly thinking to herself as she muttered words under her breath. Her had was flat against the wall, fingers pulsating to a rhythm as she thought.

"The Grit needs me to go into town, but I need to get out. So I can offer you something else." _Oh god, deal after deal. How will I keep up? _Anna thought. However, she then realised something else. _If this girl can offer us a sweeter deal then The Grit, and we never have to see Hans' stupid face again..._

"And, what can you offer, blondie?" Anna asked, folding her own arms as she leant back. The girl chuckled, pacing back and forth a moment.

"If you must know, it's Elsa. But I need to get to the next city, Southernal. There's a research centre I was told to go to, with my hulking friend over there." _So she was protecting it. Was she somehow controlling it as well? How does someone control an infected, or how does an infected obey someone?! _"If you can get me there, whatever the Grit is paying you, I'll double. Double the reward, for just a trip to Southernal; Deal?"

The redhead turned to Kristoff a moment. Southernal was at least fifty miles away. They would need some mode of travel to get there. But this mission had no deadline, or Hans to deal with. Kristoff looked back over to Elsa a moment, then back to Anna. He nodded, knowing exactly what Anna was thinking, as she turned back to the messy haired blonde, shrugging her shoulders.

"Sure. What have we got to lose?"

* * *

**A/N Sorry if this seems hastily written up, I will go back at times and make changes from time to time as I get better and better with writing. This is fun, but it's so different to what I'm used to writing.**

**Thanks so far for the follows and reviews, and to the reviewer who guessed Marshmallow was a massive infected under Elsa's control - HOW DID YOU EVEN?! FFFFFFF**


	3. The Black Blizzard

The noise outside had began to quiet down once the group rested inside Elsa's own storage room. Thankfully the snarky blonde had sacrificed a few of her tins of food for the three, even one for Sven. Not that she had barely said a word to the group, all of her attention was focused on either packing things into her own backpack, or looking outside through one of the tiny cut-outs in the metal. Compared to most survivors, she kept a massive distance from the three, emotionally speaking. Most survivors would at least made basic conversation, but the only thing Elsa had asked was for their names. That's was it. _Well, that's going to make the journey to Southernal stupidly boring._ Anna decided to break the silence, speaking once her mouth was free of food.

"So what's with the big guy outside?"

Elsa turned from where she was staring out, looking back to Anna. She adjusted her glasses again, before leaning back against the wall. "What's it to you, ginger?"

"_Anna_." The redhead got rather annoyed at the blonde's attitude. Why keep secrets? At this point, Anna had none, but sharing information would help both parties. She tried again, using a different approach. "I mean, is he going to be following us the entire way or are you dropping him off at the centre?"

"Where I go, Marshmallow goes."

"PFFFFT Marshmallow?!" Kristoff erupted into laughter at the name. The beast was in no way as cuddly or cute as the name would suggest. He was soon quietened down when Anna hit his side, forcing him to shut up. The blonde shared an annoyed look at them. She continued.

"Yes. Marshmallow. He'll be following us the whole journey. As long as I'm your ally, he's harmless." _So he's linked to you, somehow. _Questions were storming Anna's mind, but with Elsa's attitude, it would be unlikely she would get any answers. For now, getting as much information on how they'd make it to Southernal was the main priority. They could take a car, but Southernal was south of Arendelle. They were currently at the north most point. The city had been a no drive zone for at least three years, so even if they found a working car here, it would be useless.

"We're gonna have to go on foot to the other side of the city, then try and find a car. It'll take a week at least to just travel the city." Anna explained, trying to picture the route in her own head. Elsa's attention turned to outside again.

"We have enough food to last the five of us for four days. So long as we scavenge, we'll be fine." She then grasped her backpack from the floor, forcing it on her back, along with the extension cord and her hunting rifle. "The coast is clear outside, get stocked up, and we'll get moving."

"_Why is she so grumpy master?_" 'Sven said' Kristoff chuckled soon after, getting up to re-load his own guns, though when Anna also got up to re-stock hers, he leaned in close, whispering. "Are you sure about this? The city's crawling with the military _and_ The Grit. If Hans finds out what we're doing he's not going to be happy."

"We have to go through the city anyway. The way I see it, if she causes trouble, we stick to the original plan and hand her over. But if we succeed and can get double everything, even better."

"And Olaf's safety?"

Anna paused a moment, trying to look back at her brother, who was currently playing with the huge dog, scratching his belly and roughing up his fur. Her heart melted. He was always so happy, despite the situation.

"... If what we do endangers him, we call it all off."

* * *

An un-eventful day of travel passed. They were well on their way toward the south. Sticking to the outskirts of the city, the group managed to remain completely undetected, even with the absolutely huge monster now following them.

Marshmallow caused no trouble. In fact, sometimes he even was cute. He would occasionally run ahead, picking up random objects to have a look at them, tilting his head in wonder. His favourite things to pick up were certainly different electrical pieces. _What is it with the extension cords?_

It didn't take them long to near a military checkpoint. The spot-lights shining out into the night were an easy enough sign. The group were out of sight in an alleyway just across from it as Kristoff gazing out toward it. It stretched across the entirety of their route. No way they would get through without being checked for ID or signs of infection, which Marshmallow would obviously fail.

"Anna, Kristoff! We can go in here!" Olaf had found another way around, currently trying to lift a loose grate off the ground which lead to the sewer systems. Essentially, he had discovered a tunnel which could lead them straight under the city, under any soldiers, under The Grit. Kristoff soon took it from his hands, moving it aside, but not before ruffling the boy's hair and congratulating him. He looked into the systems below. There was plenty of space to walk, but the majority was flooded. Still, it was better than chancing it with the military.

"Stick to the paths here, unless you fancy going for a swim." Kristoff smirked, before being the first slowly climb down the ladder. Thankfully, Sven had been lifted by Marshmallow, who cradled him when he jumped down, landing on the pathway to release the dog. Olaf followed his sister down the ladder next, leaving a rather disgusted looking Elsa at the top, her nose turned up at the thought of entering the tunnels below.

"That, is, disgusting..."

"So is your face! Come on, we have no other choice!" It was Anna's turn to be snide to her this time, she waiting as the blonde inevitably sighed, grasping the ladder to begin her decent. Kristoff shone his flashlight into the caves, gazing ahead into the darkness before them. _No Black Snow, no signs of any walkers, no military. Perfect. _He thought to himself, beginning to walk forward. Olaf was sat upon Sven's back again, holding on tightly when the dog picked up speed to catch up with his master. Though Anna and Elsa were at the back of the group and Marshmallow had stuck to their sides. The blonde couldn't help but look at the deep water besides them, keeping away from the edge as much as she could, forcing her to almost walk into Anna. The redhead knew instantly what was going on.

"So you don't like water?" She asked her, even switching sides with her so she could walk closer to the water. Although it wasn't spoken, Elsa was thankful for the swap, breathing a sigh of relief.

"I never learnt to swim. Had a scare a while back, would rather not go through that again."

"Wow, that's unfortunate."

"Yes, ginger, nearly drowning is rather _unfortunate_." The blonde snapped, once again avoiding using the girl's name. Anna's frown proved it was getting annoying, the name 'ginger' rather got on her nerves after a while. _But at least this is getting close to a conversation._ She looked ahead to Kristoff and Olaf, smiling happily at the two, who were both giggling and laughing together. It was amazing how Kristoff could lift the lowest of spirits even in the dark situations. _I don't deserve him..._

"So... What's with you three? You always travel together?" _Oh my god. She's actually starting the conversation this time._ Anna brushed her braid behind her ear nervously, still keeping her gaze on the two.

"Well, usually it's just me, or me and Olaf. Kris' and I both share looking after him whilst the other goes out to work. Usually Olaf never comes out, or Sven even. But seeing as we're now homeless they're gonna have to, at least until-" She was beginning to ramble, so Elsa instantly interrupted.

"You mainly want a new place so you, your brother and your boyfriend can live happily ever after, right 'ginger'?"

Anna's face flushed red, she instantly became defensive, turning to jab a finger at Elsa. "Kristoff is not my boyfriend! I don't like him in that way, I never ha- well we dated, once- years ago but I-... My name is Anna, _Ahh-nah! _Stop calling me ginger!"

"Woah, calm the fuck down. _Fucking hell_ didn't mean to offend you _your highness_." Elsa raised her arms submissively. She couldn't help the smug grin on her face that had appeared. It seems she enjoyed winding people up, or at least she gave that impression; her motives were a complete mystery. Anna took a moment to re-collect her thoughts, before turning back to her, asking.

"What about you? Do you have anyone?"

The question seemed to make Elsa think for a moment, as once again she fiddled with her gloves, twiddling her fingers so they were a snug fit inside them. She eventually answered quite bluntly to avoid the question.

"No. I'm alone. It's safer that way."

"Safer for you, or other people?" But before she could get an answer, the room was flooded with light. The group covered their eyes instantly, as Elsa quickly turned to the huge beast, signalling him away around one of the corners. He obeyed, thankfully faster than the guard noticing.

"Place your hands behind your head and kneel on the ground. Wait for infection inspection." _Great, they're down here too._ Anna thought, reluctantly agreeing as she knelt. Any trouble may just attract more forces._ Well, with Marshmallow out of sight, we should be fine._

Kristoff was first to be tested. The guard pulled back one of his sleeves and pressed a hand held metal device against it. He flinched when a cold needle pricked his skin, taking a small sample of blood. Sure enough, the device glowed green. He was clear. Next came Olaf. Clear.

Elsa's breath began to quicken as the guard approached them both. She began to fiddle with her sleeves, trying to keep her arms covered as much as possible. Anna was next to be tested, as the guard held her wrist firmly, pressing the machine against her to take a blood sample. Clear. The redhead was relieved, she lowering her arms to stand with the others again, looking over as the Guard finally tested Elsa. He pulled her sleeve back, pressing the machine against the underside of her wrist.

He wouldn't be able to finish the test.

She jerked her arm, pulling the arm off balance whilst kicking his shins, sending him falling flat against the ground head first, groaning in agony. She quickly delivered a swift kick to his head soon after, forcing him to fall unconscious.

An awe struck Anna watched the whole thing, unable to believe what had happened. They would have been fine, there was no reason to attack. "_Elsa why did you-?!_" she shouted, looking down at the now unconscious guard. If they had just let him finish the inspection, they could have got Marshmallow around another way. But a click of a gun was enough to make Anna turn around.

Kristoff was aiming his shotgun right at the blonde, holding the device the guard had dropped in his hand. His eyes swiftly moved up and down from Elsa to the screen. His aim remained unchanged however. "Anna, roll back her sleeves."

"Kristoff what is going on-"

"Just do it Anna!"

She gave in, approaching the blonde, grabbing one of her hands and forcing her sleeve up her arm, revealing the skin beneath. She didn't expect the sight before her. Her skin was coated in black freckles, running all over her arms; some areas even being coated in the same calcium coatings as some of the basic walkers. _She's infected..._

The girl snatched her arm back, forcing her sleeve back down over her arm, raising her hands submissively toward Kristoff.

"It's not what you think."

"Looks exactly what I! How long ago has it been? One day? Two days? Were you planning on just turning on us?" He was close to pulling the trigger, holding the gun up closer to his shoulder ready. But the blonde answered quickly.

"I've had it for well over five years now. The signs, I mean. The infection I've carried longer."

Kristoff hesitated, trying to take in all the information, his eyes darted toward the floor as he tried to think. "... People turn in three days, that's impossible."

"What's impossible is talking to an infected, not to mention befriending one. And yet here is Marshmallow." She said desperately, the huge monster raising its own hands submissively, even making whimpering sounds for its master, staying close to her. She had a good point. She was strange from the start. But were the group expecting this? No. Far from it. Elsa grew desperate, looking toward Anna. Her eyes were now wide in fear, the most open she had been since she they began travelling. _She's just as scared as we are..._

Although soon Marshmallow's look of fear vanished when he looked ahead, he reaching to nudge his master, grunting. It was soon followed by Sven's whimpers, as he looked out toward the tunnels. Flashlights were getting closer. There were far more soldiers roaming the tunnels. It would only get worse when Marshmallow decided to roar, blowing any of their sneak-attack strategies to smithereens. But Elsa's fear had disappeared. She seemed determined as she now stepped close to Marshmallow's side, pointing down the alleyway where Marshmallow was previously hiding.

"You won't believe that I won't turn, so I'll prove it to you. Hide, and don't come out until I call you. Understand?"

The redhead and the blonde boy looked to one another, both puzzled and worried, but they nodded. Tugging at Sven's collar, Kristoff pulled him and Olaf with them around the corner, Anna soon joining them. She looked around the corner at all times however, watching as the flashlights began to get closer to Elsa and Marshmallow. _What the hell is she doing?!_

The blonde pulled up her sleeves fully, removing her gloves and shoving them into her pockets. She looked back to Marshmallow, once again giving the signature nod to command him. The beast erupted into another roar as he ran ahead, the calcium armour around his arms and chest strengthening to protect him from the flurry of gunfire in his direction. But he wouldn't be the only one who's body would change.

The girl's arms began to grow darker, the blackened spots increasing in number over her arms, beginning to cover her hands. The freckles on her face also turned black, whilst her eyes glowed a bright vivid blue. She threw her hands forward, releasing a flurry of spores from her fingertips. The black powder spread toward the guards like a blizzard, blinding many of those who were close. It made more than enough of an opening for Elsa to draw her rifle, firing as quickly as possible at those who were in close range. Marshmallow was able to take out those at the back, slashing them with rock hard claws, sending many to their watery graves. _She's a fucking force to be reckoned with!_

* * *

The fight lasted mere minutes, before the last soldier fell. It was only then that Elsa finally rolled down her sleeves, forcing her hands back into their gloved prisons. As quickly as her transformation into this amazing warrior had taken place, she was back to her father fragile self, turning back to the others as she weakly called. "T-they're gone. We can keep going."

_That was amazing... I'm so glad she's on OUR side. _The redheaded girl wandered out, followed by her little brother Olaf. Kristoff soon followed after, whistling loudly when looking at the guards around. He was impressed. "Ok, I got to hand it to you Els', that was fucking rad."

His calls landed on deaf ears.

By now, the blonde's eyes were half closed, as her legs were trembling. The canine companion of the group soon ran to her, managing to run up behind her as she inevitably collapsed, making sure she landed on his fluffy body as opposed to the harsh floor. It would seem that using her strange power had taken a lot out of her, or possibly it could have been the fight in general. It didn't matter. Olaf and Anna both ran to her side, helping her to the ground gently. She was out cold, her breathing slowed right down as the black spots across her face began to fade back to her regular, faint freckles.

"Elsa?" The small boy attempted to shake her, grabbing her arm and shaking rather roughly. It was no use. She wouldn't wake up. He took a moment to reach his hand up to the side of her neck, placing his fingers firmly against her to check her pulse. First aid was a basic skill Anna had taught Olaf. Even if he was so young, it was worth him knowing. He smiled, looking up to his sister. "She'll be ok, her heartbeat is normal."

"Normal? I don't think anything is normal about this girl, Olaf." Kristoff snapped. His expression was one of anger. It was obvious by now he didn't like the girl, be it because of her strange ability or the fact she potentially endangered them all. He looked onwards at the bodies of all the soldiers ahead, lowering his head. "She could have contaminated the entire area in spores, hell you could probably catch something from just touching her."

"I was just trying to help." The boy said sadly, lowering his head in sadness.

The blonde man sighed, looking at Anna's younger brother, then back to her. He could tell the two wanted to protect her, despite the risk. He gave in, kneeling to their level in order to pick up Elsa, hauling her into his arms. He didn't like it, but he had a soft spot for the two. He'd do anything for them. And Anna knew it. She let out a smile toward him, placing her hand on his arm, walking by his side. She noticed that his cheeks had been dusted with red, and noticed the smile curling on his face.

The huge Marshmallow followed behind the group, ever on guard as he kept his claws in the air, looking around eagerly for any enemies.

* * *

Minutes passed again before any more words were spoken. Kristoff had turned to Anna, asking her.

"What are we doing here?"

"Well getting to the city for one thing." She sarcastically replied, chuckling a little at her own joke. Though the laughter stopped when she was met with a cold stare, _for once he's actually being serious, idiot. Listen._

"I mean, what are we doing being 'baby sitters'? We don't take people places."

"Do we have another choice?" She asked him, looking up to him worriedly. He lowered his head, aware she was right yet again. But when looking down at Olaf and Sven, seeing as they played on the journey as normal, he allowed one more sentence to leave his mouth.

"If The Grit find us before we get to the other side of the city, I'm handing her over. It's too dangerous." Anna took a breath in, about to argue against him, raising her hand. But he spoke again, stopping her in her tracks. "A girl like this needs to be in proper hands. If she carries the disease, she can be used to study it and find a cure. Handing her over would solve all our problems."

She didn't want to. She had only just met the girl, but something already was tugging at her heart strings. She cared for Elsa, even after just one day, she cared for Elsa's welfare. The Grit wanted her dead or alive, and if they didn't care if she was no longer living, what would that mean for her if she was handed over? Would she be killed?

But despite the questions hovering in her mind she knew one thing was certain.

_I care about you and Olaf more..._

* * *

**A/N I really did not expect this many follows already. I know it's only like 10, but for a first fic THIS IZ BIG DEAL TO MOI. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Would appreciate it if you have any questions/theorys on future events if you could PM me about them rather then leave public reviews though, I want to have some niiice suprises for Chapter 4 ;)**


	4. Just Kill One

**A/N just to say I may not be able to update this over this weekend, and apologies that this chapter is a little shorter then normal. Don't worry, I'll make up for it in a feelsy chapter five and six. Grab some tissues for those two guys.**

* * *

The days all blended together. Each day was the same tiring routine; Eat, sleep, walk, repeat. Eat, sleep, kill infected, repeat. They had only encountered the occasional infected, nothing they couldn't handle. The redhead and her male friend would always fight side by side, their Pistol/Shotgun combination was flawless in the small combat situations they were in. Their combat often made Elsa feel like a third wheel. There was just no need for a long-distance rifle when Walkers were running up close. Although, when scaling from the buildings, her extension cord proved to be a valuable tool; the socket end made a perfect grappling hook. Despite working together, the group had barely exchanged any words with Elsa since the event. _And why should they?_ She thought. _Who'd want to talk to the diseased freak who talks to zombies?_

By the sixth night, the group had managed to find an old shopping mall. So far, with no signs of infected. Marshmallow's eyes were full of wonder as he looked at the remaining items that hadn't been looted. Toys, gadgets, shelving units; it was all new to him. Even Olaf had picked up the occasional toy to play, currently holding a miniature plane and running around the room with Sven. The journey had taken its toll on the older three. Or at least, the lack of talking did on the blonde woman. Once they had found a place to settle, she had merely sat in the corner, staring at the floor. This was normal, or so Anna noted. Every night she would be silent, sitting upright and staring into thin air, until she'd fall asleep. _Not tonight. _Anna thought. Tonight, despite the silence between them, she would attempt once again to break Elsa's hard shell, she sitting herself down next to her, throwing her own backpack onto her lap.

"Ok, so I found something for you in one of the stoooores!" Anna sang excitedly, unzipping her bag to rummage her hands through it. She bit her lip when doing so, a strange habit of hers whenever she was excited. Despite Elsa's look of confusion, she watched the girl, as she finally pulled out three pairs of glasses.

"Surprise! When we were scouting for infected earlier I found a load of pairs, so I figured one will be your prescription or something. But they're so you can, you know, replace your cracked ones. Or steal the lenses. Or throw them at people..." She was rambling again, though this time, Elsa's lips curled up to a smile, she stopping her.

"Thanks. Seriously. I was gonna try and find some at some point." She happily took the replacements, taking off her own to try each pair on. Although it didn't take Anna long before she took hers, her curious nature taking over as she put them on. Instantly her eyes squinted.

"Holy shit, you are actually blind." She then looked over to the blonde, moving the glasses just to the edge of her nose. Her eyes half closed as she pouted her lips when the other girl looked in confusion, before lowering her tone of voice, speaking very poshly. "Excuse me, Madame, but you must be quiet in my class."

Elsa couldn't help but laugh, bringing her hand up to her mouth when doing so. _Wow, she actually is happy. I didn't think she was capable of giggling. _After trying the final pair of glasses, she blinked a few times, before her smile re-appeared. "These are perfect. Finally I don't have to walk around with a massive blur in the way." She then looked back over to the 'librarian'. "You can keep those, Mrs Ginger."

"Oh shut up."

"I've not done my homework miss, my fucking zombie ate it!" Elsa played along to Anna's games, the smile not once disappearing from her face. It was contagious, as Anna was also unable to get rid of her huge grin. She removed the glasses to look at them, holding the black, square frames up. Her grin turned back into a small smile when she did so.

"My dad had frames similar to this with his reading glasses. We used to call him a nerd when he wore them to annoy him." She chuckled to herself, the memories flooding back to her. It was enough to tilt the blonde's head. She thought to herself a moment, before looking back at the ground, a slight smile appearing, but soon fading.

"It must be nice to have family still alive."

The comment made Anna look away from the glasses, over to the blonde. The smiles were gone, leaving a messy haired, deeply saddened soul behind. It pulled at her heart. "So you had a family at some point?"

Elsa didn't respond this time, she simply brought her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them, tucking her head away. It was obvious she no longer wanted to talk. The redhead thought to herself again, trying to put together a sentence in her head. _No, just let her be a while... But then she might think I'm a massive jerk... Or I'll be one if I talk..._ She took a breath in, though Olaf's voice stopped her as he shouted from the other room.

"Anna, Kristoff's being mean to me! Come tell him off!"

The redhead perked up again, jumping to her feet at the sound of her brother's voice. She didn't leave without offering a hand to Elsa to help her up. But the girl wouldn't budge. She simply shook her head into her knees, tucking herself further in. She wouldn't budge. Anna gave in, simply leaving the girl be for the night.

* * *

_Bored, bored, bored..._

Olaf had been staring at the ceiling. With the final day before they could get to Southernal approaching, he was overcome with excitement. Finally being in a car again, seeing new places, and sure enough meeting new people. All of these possibilities were exciting to him. But there was only one thing that did bother him. All throughout the journey, Anna, Kristoff and Sven had continuously risked their lives to protect him. He remembered the first day, of how Anna very nearly was pulled down by the walkers into a horde. He remembered Kristoff getting ready to shoot the massive monster Marshmallow, because _he_ set off the car alarm which alerted it. Even previously in the day, Sven had charged into a walker, viciously biting it to keep it away from him. It made him feel terrible.

He looked over to his sister. She was sleeping soundly next to her friend, Kristoff. Both of whom were happily snuggled up into Sven. He turned his gaze to Anna's backpack, remembering that she had stored all of her weapons within it. Knives, pistols and a baseball bat. An idea came into his head, as the small boy started grinning to himself. _If I kill an infected, they'll know I'm just as strong as them! That I won't need defending! _He quietly moved over to the bag, trying not to make a sound as he took the pistol and knife from it. He slowly got up, making his way toward the front door.

He silently passed Elsa's room, just spying inside to see that she had fallen asleep herself. It was a distinct difference to the cuddling in the other room. But he didn't want to think about that. He wanted to kill an infected. He was about to exit the door, until stopped by a huge hand, being Marshmallow's. _Of course, he doesn't sleep. _The boy wasn't scared of Marshmallow. At least, not anymore. He had seen that the creature was very funny at times, especially when playing with the objects he found. But it did give him an idea.

"You want to come kill some zombies with me?"

The monster seemed to smile, letting out an excited grunt as he nodded in approval, allowing the boy to lead him out the door. The small black haired boy couldn't contain his excitement, happily running outside to the other shops in the mall, humming happily to himself.

* * *

He had managed to find an arcade in his search, making his eyes light up in wonder. He had never seen these devices before, well, not since the infection began, but he was only five then. Childish cravings took over as he ran over to the main circuit board, trying to figure out how to turn it on. Although the huge monster helped with that. He examined the board for a moment, before very gently placing his claw under the main switch. With a delicate movement, he managed to turn the switch on.

The room instantly came alive with lights. All the machines glowed brightly, and the colours danced across the room. Chiptune could be heard from each corner, as the machines before him beckoned him over. It was hopeless to resist. The small boy ran straight over to one of the machines. 'Fix it Felix Junior' _My first game. This is going to be awesome! _Although he was met with a sign that made him grunt in displeasure. 'INSERT COIN TO PLAY.'

Marshmallow soon solved that problem. With a swing of his mighty fist, he managed to smash the cash register that sat by the fuseboard. Coins of all kinds fell from it, making Olaf grin with glee as he went to pick them all up. "You are amazing!" he said to his new friend, who had just let out a grunt-like giggle in response.

He played each game in the arcade, managing to beat a few of the high scores. His proudest achievement yet. However there was one more device he had spotted. A large Juke box sat in the corner of the room, awaiting the boy's request. Of all the things the boy had missed about life before the Black Snow, how on _earth_ did he forget about music? It was a no brainer, he had to play a song.

The boy eagerly scrolled through the menu of music, bobbing up and down in anticipation when looking through the music.

"RnB, no. Rock, no. Pop, hell no..." He continued his search, before eventually finding something that he could like. _Daft punk... They have robots on their album cover. I like robots! _With a couple more buttons, he had selected the track. But he hadn't considered how loud it would have been.

The music was set to maximum volume, blaring out the track throughout the entire mall. It startled the huge monster, who had instantly roared back at the machine. But Marshmallow wasn't a worry. Outside, screeches were approaching. Much more deepened tones then mere walkers. The boy looked around.

Before him were at least three infected running straight for the arcade. This time, the bone like structure had began to cover parts of their face, blackened spots covering the white skin all over. _Hunters._

Instantly, Olaf drew the pistol, beginning to fire toward the group headed for the door. One gunshot smashed the glass window, whilst two more missed completely. One more shot was fired, and one fell dead. The boy would have grinned with delight, if not for the other two running straight for him.

Marshmallow roared loudly, charging straight into one more of the hunters, ramming it straight into the opposing wall of the arcade, into a machine. The machine gave out enough electricity to shock the creature to death. It left Marshmallow to laugh victoriously.

The last one was but a few feet from Olaf as he was about to fire.

Click.

The weapon was out of ammo. In that split second, Olaf's eyes widened in pure terror, before inevitably, the beast pounced.

A shrill scream echoed from the boy, as he frantically pushed back against the creature's chest, keeping the creature's snapping jaws away from any of his skin. But the noise only attracted more outside. He could only focus on the one that he was currently pinned under, but he could feel his arms beginning to buckle. He couldn't hold it back any longer.

He wouldn't have to.

The huge claws swiped across the body of the infected, just managing to catch Olaf's white coat, tearing through the arm of the sleeve, cutting him. He yelled out in pain, instantly grasping the area which had been slashed. But the beast had been knocked away at least. Consumed by rage, Marshmallow's assault on the hunter only got worse, as he ran to the beast, clenching his fists as he repeatedly bought them down onto the beast's head. But the boy's attention turned to outside again, as he witnessed more infected coming this way. More hunters, and some walkers.

Then, a loud bark.

Sven was running behind the hoard, jumping up at one of the larger infected to lunge at its neck, turning his own quickly to tear the beast's throat. Kristoff followed, a flurry of bullets firing right at the hunters, often matching the beat to the inappropriately upbeat music. Elsa followed after, this time using the extension cord as a whip, as she managed to sweep a few of the walkers off their feet, leaving them helpless for Kristoff's shots. Finally, came Anna. Once the door was clear, she ran straight indoors, straight toward her brother. She didn't care for the others a moment as she threw her arms around him, tugging him against her body as close as she could, nuzzling her head into her shoulder. She was numb to the outside, not even noticing when the fight was over, and when Elsa cut the power again. She eventually removed her head from his shoulder, her eyes full of tears when she looked at him, met with the boy's own teary eyes.

"What did you think you were doing?! Do you have any idea what could have happened to you?!" She shook him once, her hands gripping his arms tightly in fear. The boy gave in tears finally running down his cheeks, he whimpering.

"I thought... If I could just kill one..."

"I could have lost you Olaf! I can't do that!" She cried, wrapping her arms around his shoulders once again as she pulled him up close. She had began to lose herself, sobbing into his coat uncontrollably. "I can't lose you... I can't lose you..."

The boy too began to cry, as he wrapped his arms around his big sister's chest, keeping her close. He didn't even feel the pain on his arm where Marshmallow had slashed anymore. The large cut had disappeared into the coat sleeve as it shifted about on his body.

Anna finally released him from her grip as she gave the boy a last cold stare. "Don't you ever do that to me again, do you understand?!"

Her fear was perfectly rational, or so that's what she told herself. Her brother, the last remaining family she had, had nearly gotten himself killed. Just before their trip to Southernal too. That in itself took so long for her to sink in. She picked up the boy again, making her way back to their 'room' for the night. At least the area was now definitely clear of zombies.


	5. Melted Snowmen

**A/N I will say this now, this fic is rated M for gore and deaths, was probably obvious with it being a Zombie AU, but I feel the need to say it again. With that, I lead on to say, there's a trigger warning of a death in this chapter. And I'm really sorry guys, but you will probably be telling me to stand in a corner and think about what I've done.**

**I'm sorry in advance for any feels this chapter will cause. But I still love you all :) - Hella**

* * *

The isolation was beginning to take its toll. One can only be alone searching for so long. Well, alone from human contact at least. The walls of the Grit's safe haven in Arendelle called her. It was not where she was originally from, but it was now where she retired to. The Grit's base, was her home.

A girl was heading straight for the base, face hidden in a lime green hoodie, ebony hair filthy with pieces of rubble and trash. She hadn't been home for days. She had been out, searching. She finally reached the main office. She knew what she was here for. She needed to report her information to her superior. To Hans.

She entered the room; it had changed from last time. It was filled with working televisions, all streaming the CCTV around Arendelle. Well, whatever CCTV cameras were working at least. Hans was searching it intently, inspecting the Military's actions and formations. His eyes were growing weary; he had been up for days. He turned his head once able to feel a gaze upon him.

"Have you heard anything?" He asked, before finally turning around to face her. Her own eyes were covered with her thick, black goggles. He was at least a foot taller than the girl, despite being only a couple of years older than her. The black-haired girl shook her head, twitching her foot against the ground as her head turned to stare at it.

"I've not slept in three days. I've looked all over the city, even searched some of the roads."

The redheaded man sighed, turning back to the screens again. He was clearly worried. But why would a man be so worried? He had sent 'expendables' out to do his own dirty work, why would he be worried. But the girl, despite her eyes being covered, was more so. She was eager to look at the screens herself.

"If you told me she was the one you needed before you sent those two out, I'd have had her back here lickety-split."

"You're too valuable to send out on a mission like that, Vanellope. You know the military is searching for you."

"To hell with 'em. You should have shown me who it was from the start. I could have done something!" Her expression grew angry as she stomped the ground, arms stiff against her as she glared.

But Hans was having none of it. He turned back to face her, his face now as angry as hers. Not, angry even, but determined. "You do remember the terms of joining us, don't you? How could I risk losing you on a fetch quest when you're that important to us? To all of us? To... this?!" He gestured toward the cameras, throwing his arm out so she would follow it and view the images before her.

The words hit her hard. Her gaze turned to the floor again as she threw her hands into her pockets, keeping herself small. There was a moment of silence in the room, besides the static that some screens gave off. The two were alone with their thoughts. Until Vanellope perked up; her eyebrows shot to the top of her head in realisation, a slight smile perking on her face as she looked back up again. _There's one place I haven't looked, that should have been the first. I know where she is! _"I've got one more place to look, but keep an eye on the cameras in the south."

"Where are you going?" Hans asked, watching as she walked to the shelves of the room, collecting essential supplies. Food, ammo, batteries. It was clear from the amount, she'd be gone a while.

"Southernal. That's the last place I told her I'd be."

* * *

In the post apocalyptic waste land, a safe place was a very hard place to find outside the military's weak walls. Electricity was another rarity, but the rarest of all was clean, running water; a shower. The group had been blessed with such a rarity within the solitude of the empty mall, having found the luxury in the back of one of the stores. A shower was excellent for re-collecting strengths and thoughts, cleanse the spirit, heal wounds.

That was what Olaf thought.

The boy had stood in the cold water for a full five minutes, perfectly still, thoughts flying through his mind. He didn't even care how cold it was; despite it feeling like Jack Frost was nipping at his flesh (in a metaphorical sense.) He bought his arm forward to inspect the wound, the wound created by Marshmallow's claw. He was desperately trying to clean it, rubbing as much water against it to tear away the blood. He had avoided looking at it, so as not to draw attention to it. Anna was already worried sick and blaming herself for what had happened, for _his _reckless action. The knowledge of such a wound would only make matters worse. He couldn't do that to her. But he couldn't deny it. It was there. He had to take the time to look. He bought his arm out, inspecting the wound closely.

How could he tell her now? How could he tell her of the blue edges of the wound as it was healing over? Of the blackened freckles forming around his arm? Of his skin, growing ever whiter around the area? His eyes were that of sorrow, staring at the wound upon him. A wound that was now essentially a sand timer and the grains were running quickly. He clenched his eyes shut; letting out a sob he had held in, letting the tears run down his cheeks, letting it all go. The cool water would wash it away.

* * *

Thankfully, from their earlier looting, he had a newer, cleaner coat to wear. The three hadn't noticed. It allowed them to get on their way quickly. No distractions, nothing had happened last night, and it was best left forgotten. In the adult's minds, at least.

They were at the edge of the city, beginning the infuriating task of finding all of what they needed for the drive. They needed A) a car in good enough condition to use; B) a battery that worked; C) gasoline. This would be a difficult task, especially when a lot of the car tires had rotted away after their standstill. There was the odd one, of course, which had been used recently. But a lot were raided for parts.

Kristoff had managed to find the perfect vehicle, propping up the bonnet of a minivan near the front of the queue of cars. The tires were alright, and the engine seemed to be in working order. A minivan could easily fit the survivors and Marshmallow inside. It was just testing the battery and finding some gasoline. On their travels, they had picked up many trinkets and parts that would be of use. One of which, which Marshmallow had found, being a volt meter. It was the perfect item for locating a working car battery. Elsa had assigned herself to such a task, allowing Marshmallow to tear the bonnets off the many cars to allow the blonde access to the battery inside. As far as Kristoff and Anna knew, the monster was his normal self. Following Elsa like a lost puppy, ever at her side, ready to do anything to please his master. But his master knew different. She knew, despite his lack of ability to communicate, despite his lack of intelligence, she could read him like a book. That was the bond they were blessed with.

When far enough from the group's earshot, she reached into another car, testing the battery. But she turned to face him, her face full of worry, projecting her thoughts toward him.

_"Are you alright?"_

_"No." _Was the response she received. It was her and his secret, the fact that they could hear one another's thoughts. Only Elsa could hear Marshmallow's voice, currently scared, filled with sadness. It was sometimes like her head was half his. It was like he was half of her brain, half of her life. He was the white to her black. The yin to her yang. The fire to her ice. "_I am not alright, I should have stopped it all."_

_"Is this about Olaf? Last night?" _She asked, finally rising from the inside of the car when knowing it was a bad battery, moving on with him to the next one. Even when they communicated through thought, Elsa was always paranoid of people hearing their one to one conversations. It was just like talking to her, so normal. She looked to him with a comforting smile, reaching to place her hand against his huge arm, rubbing it softly. _"Neither of you were injured, so it doesn't matter. You protected him long enough for us to get there. I should be congratulating you."_

He was silent, looking down at his huge clawed hands. From slashing infected, they were stained with various colours of blackened blood; however one particular stain didn't go away; crimson, right at the end of one of the massive fingers. It hadn't come from an infected, this was human blood. He finally bought his hand forward for her to see. "_You shouldn't congratulate me. Not for this."_

_"... What?" _She tilted her head, before finally looking down at the hand. It didn't need to be said, she knew. As soon as she saw the blood, it was clear. Her eyes widened in disbelief, worry, and grief all in one. She turned back to look at Olaf. It was obvious, the way he was suddenly silent, despite being the talkative one of the group. Not to mention his constant holding of his arm. It was right under their noses, right there in plain sight. She couldn't help but utter a faint 'No...' under her breath. She was so distracted she barely noticed they had finally found a working battery.

She was torn. She tried to distance herself from the group as much as she could. To spare her from dangerous feelings that would affect their survival. But she couldn't. Olaf meant something to her now. He was that little, always positive scamp, that could somehow make the other two grin no matter what the situation. He was the little boy who tried to prove himself to his sister, acting as a brother to defend her. He was all Anna thought for. _He's all Anna has._

The choice was one of two; Tell her now, and he would be left behind on his own. Or wait. Wait three days, until he'd turn, possibly killing Anna as she would be grief stricken by the sight of her own brother trying to clamp his teeth into her. She leant down to remove the car battery, lifting it toward the group again. She had made her choice. "_For now, we need to get this car working. Before we go, we have to say something._"

"I got gasoline! Man this stuff tastes icky..." Anna was grinning from the other side of the road, having siphoned out the much needed gas from other cars. It may not be much, but it was enough for them to get where they needed. Half a tank of fuel could easily get them to Southernal. It seemed they may get it working faster than intended.

Or not.

_"Someone is here..."_

Marshmallow readied his claws, able to hear the footsteps approaching. Not infected this time. Human footsteps. It didn't take long for a shot to be fired at Marshmallow, it bounding off his huge armoured arm, making him roar out loudly. From the other side of the cars, Anna had heard the roar, forcing her to quickly cap the petrol canister to get her gun ready. Kristoff readied his own, before looking to his canine friend. And inevitably, to Olaf.

"Sven! Get Olaf out of here!"

The dog barked in response, grasping the boy's coat to pull him away from the carnage that was approaching. He could easily overpower the boy by tugging his coat, and usually the black haired boy would submit, and go willingly to hide away.

No.

The boy wouldn't be hidden any longer. Not when the sands were ever flowing, faster down the timer. Within the space of a few hours, his hair had developed a few streaks of white. He wouldn't hide away when he had nothing to lose. He wouldn't become one of those monsters.

Unzipping his coat and leaping out of it, he ran from Sven and the others. He still had the knife in his pocket from last night, he could still fight. The dog ran after him, barking manically for his return. He wouldn't listen.

The flurry of gunshots were ever approaching, it would seem a group of rogues outside the military and outside The Grit had found them, rouge survivors that killed for supplies. It was a common thing to find on the outsides of the city. It was always kill or be killed.

As per the norm, Kristoff and Anna fought together, both trusting that Sven would have done his job to get Olaf for safety, not even bothering to look to check. They were just so used to the dog doing as they commanded right away by now. They opened fire at the many people surrounding them, managing to pick them off one by one, ducking under cars as the bullets flew through the air. They gave as much as they got.

The blonde girl was in her element, human enemies. She rolled up her sleeves again, removing her gloves. Her black freckles formed yet again all over her body, the eyes began to glow. She threw out her hands toward the gang of men headed her way, throwing out the ever awful blizzard of spores; blinding them to make way for Marshmallow's brutal attacks, as he tackled most into the cars, others he threw great distances with his mighty strength. Elsa didn't ready her own gun this time, as she mainly stuck to blinding people before they got too close. She had to save her energy, she couldn't faint again. Her ability helped even further when she threw the spores at a group headed right for Kristoff and Anna, making enough of an opening for them to clear within a few seconds. They weren't in harm's way; Elsa could control her spores enough so as not to risk anyone she was allied with breathing them in.

"Get to the van!" Anna yelled, hauling the half full gas canister to their main goal. It was obvious now, the only way to get out alive was to drive out. She had to get the gas in the tank, and Elsa had to get the battery to the front. They wasted no time, ducking down to avoid the gunfire as much as possible. They were close, as Elsa was merely connecting the wires within to wire the battery, Anna pouring the gas into the tank.

But gunshots were the beginning.

As Marshmallow had just destroyed the group that Elsa had blinded, he felt something bounce of his back, a small, green ball. He turned to look down, examining the object. To his horror, his eyes widened. It was a-

**BOOM**

The object exploded right by his side, white hot fire grasping at his armoured shell, tearing it away, tearing his flesh away. The beast was strong enough for bullet fire, but not for this. Not enough for flesh to be torn so far off his arm that his muscles and bones were exposed, nor enough for half of his face to be burned off. Blood caped the beast, and he let out a bellowing screech flew out of his mouth as he fell to his knees. One of blood-curdling pain and sadness.

Elsa could hear his thoughts, instantly dropping what she was doing to clench her own head, falling to her knees in front of the van. All she could hear was his voice, screaming in her head. Crying. Sobbing. _"It hurts... It hurts so much."_

She was as helpless as he was for a moment, unable to notice the man approaching her from behind, with a machete in his hand. He approached the girl as she knelt in agony, drawing up the blade to swipe her own head clean from her shoulders.

He would never be able to swing. Olaf _had _noticed the man.

He leapt up into the rogue before him, plunging the knife he held straight into the man's back. It forced him to scream out in agony, before collapsing to the floor. Olaf took the knife back, he wasn't through yet. Without his coat, his wound was obvious to see; far worse at this point. Freckles had began to appear all over both of his arms now, and began to show on his face. His hair was slowly turning white.

The scream was enough to snap Elsa out of it, she leaned up to see who would save was saving her. Sure enough, she saw the black haired boy, taking the blade out of the man's back. She shouted.

"Olaf what are you doing?! You'll get yourself killed!"

He didn't care; he had to protect his friends whilst he still could. Another tried to approach, aiming his pistol right for Olaf. But the boy this time showed as much spirit to fight as his sister always had. He was able to search the first rogue he'd killed, able to find a pistol of his own, this time, able to draw it up before the other had a chance to react. He fired, managing to get a headshot. _Now I have the chance, I'm quite good at this!_ He ran, shooting any of the rogues he saw in sight, keeping them away from Elsa, and in turn, Anna who was nearby. He was overcome in a range of emotions. Pride, determination, anger, fear were manifested in the boy's face, all as one. He clenched his teeth together, standing tall in the middle of the cars, yelling at the top of his voice. "Come on! I'll take you all on! _I, am, invincible_!"

A single gunshot.

A single bang.

One bullet was fired.

Anna had finally looked around from the tank when hearing Olaf's cry, only to have her eyes widen in horror.

She saw his eyes slowly lose their once lively colour. She saw him grasp helplessly at the wound that had just formed. She saw him slump to his knees as he doubled over, saw the blood staining his shirt.

_She saw her brother, the last remaining family she had, get destroyed._

"_OLAF!" _She screeched, all her fears having left her body as she ran over to her little brother, faster then she had ever sprinted before. A panicked Kristoff was finally able to look also, before his own eyes widened in the same fear. He ran, right to Anna and Olaf's side, Sven not missing the moment either as he too stopped barking to approach, a gentle whimpering escaping his jaws. He was surrounded soon enough by his family, by everyone he loved.

Anna pressed her hands flat against his chest, trying to stop any further bleeding. She was visibly shaking, tears were streaming down her face. _No, I can't lose you. I can't lose you. _She turned to Kristoff, her voice just as shaky as her body. "We need bandages, we need to stop the bleeding."

The command got her nowhere, she could only watch Kristoff's saddened eyes look down at the boy, watch as he held her little brother's hand tightly, rubbing his arm up and down. He had noticed. He knew.

"Kristoff please! If you don't he'll-"

"He's already gone." The blonde said, lifting the boy's arm to show her the wound, the 'iced' over wound with freckles dotting his skin around it.

Everything was too much at once. The red head couldn't take any more in. _He was infected. He tried to save us. He got himself killed. You weren't there to stop him. You didn't protect him. __**You broke your promise.**_

Neither of the two had noticed the van's engine starting up. Elsa had managed to get it working, preparing it for their departure. She knew she had to distance herself. It was their only way of survival. They were lucky to had not been shot in their moment of surrounding the boy. But the rogues were still approaching. One had his gun up and ready to fire, his finger hovering over the trigger.

He was smashed away by a blood covered arm. A weakened Marshmallow had managed to muster his energy together. He was covered in blood, his arm was in tatters, he was dying. But after what he had done the previous day, he too shared Olaf's bravery. He didn't care.

He gazed out to his own master, who was sat at the driver's seat of the van. A cold gaze of fear, of pain looked out to her. One of acceptance.

They knew. They knew Olaf wasn't the only one who wouldn't make it to Southernal. And with their signature, synchronised nod, Marshmallow knew what he had to do.

He used the last of his energy to stomp over to the kneeling two, grasping them both in one hand, and Sven in the other.

The red-head was frantic, kicking and screaming. She couldn't be pried away from him. Not now. He may have been infected, but for a short while longer, his heart was still beating. She wanted to be there in his final moments, she wanted to still protect him from the darkness, from the cold.

_Such feelings only end in more people getting killed. _Elsa thought, revving the engine of the van as her hulking friend got closer. She was trying to hide her own tears, her own feelings for the team's sake. It was pointless to grieve, she thought. _The word 'goodbye' is the most pointless one of all._ The beast was finally at the van, using the last of his energy to throw them all inside, quickly slamming the doors shut right after.

"Don't you dare! Don't you fucking dare! Olaf no!" Anna cried out, scrambling to her feet to run to the closed van doors. She had nearly tripped when it had sped off, leaving behind the last rogues who had opened fire on the vehicle, bullets narrowly missing the windows.

Kristoff joined her soon after, holding his arms around her for comfort, holding her close. He allowed his own tears to escape when he huddled her close, watching the van get further and further away. He never took his eyes off Olaf, until he disappeared from sight.

Thankfully, the road was a straight one, or else Elsa would have surely crashed it. She too couldn't help but stare out, through the rear-view mirror, at the scene they had ran from. Both at Olaf's small body, and at her friend.

She witnessed it just after pulling off, one rogue approaching the helpless monster, lifting his head and pointing a gun to it. She heard his whimpers echo through his mind, she heard that pointless word. _"Goodbye." _She saw that moment when the trigger was pulled in the tiny mirror and listened as half of her mind was silenced.

The group had been torn. There were two major losses in that one day.

They were driving further and further away.

Further from Marshmallow.

Further from Olaf.

Their snowmen had gone.


	6. Breaking Shells

_Papa..._

_Papa I'm so sorry..._

_It's all my fault. I shouldn't have started this mess..._

The journey was mostly silent. Besides from the occasional sob that escaped from the redhead. She had been huddled into Kristoff's chest for half an hour, bereft of her brother. The minutes hazed away from her, time didn't matter. She had never felt so alone, despite the arms of her friend shielding her from the world around her. They had only been travelling half an hour, but it felt like days. It did to Anna anyway. Olaf was dead. Her little brother, only ten years old, had died before her eyes. That was all she could focus on.

Once confident enough that they were alone in the wilderness, Elsa slowed the van to a halt. The group needed a moment to think, and whilst moving at fifty miles an hour, that wouldn't be a good idea. Not to mention, Elsa needed her own time to grieve. She didn't show it, but she too felt a rift in her heart. Her own right-hand man had gone, half of her mind. A voice she was so used to hearing, disappeared. The only thing that comforted her was the knowledge that it was his own choice, to give his life to spare theirs.

They paused in the wilds of the forest road. Silence fell.

Minutes passed.

An hour passed. But it felt like an eternity.

* * *

It was finally broken when Kristoff opened the door, allowing his dog to walk outside. A St Bernard's could only be cooped up for so long, even in a large vehicle like a minivan. Anna and Elsa were left in the van, both with reddened eyes. They had cried too many tears.

"... I'm sorry, a-about... About Marshmallow." The redhead managed to defeat the lump in her throat, managing to force out an apology. An apology the blonde didn't feel she deserved.

She turned around to Anna, rubbing her eyes with the palm of her hands, hiding her tears. "It's fine. He was just another infected. No big deal." She lied.

There was no lying to Anna however; she could tell right away that Elsa was upset. She looked down, speaking quietly. "He was a big deal to you though. He was your friend." She rubbed her own eyes again, taking another deep breath to avoid crying. She swallowed her pain, attempting to mask it by speaking to Elsa again. "He wasn't company we expected, true. But he was a gentle giant. He protected us all, right to the end. I meant to thank him for protecting Olaf yesterday."

Elsa stopped, staring blankly into space. Her memory had snapped back to the last conversation with her hulking companion. She remembered the true cause of Olaf's infection and in turn, the cause of his reckless behaviour. The guilt was eating her away. She had to tell her, she couldn't conceal it any longer. She'd had enough of locking away her emotions.

"... He'd have disagreed with you."

"What do you-?"

"I spoke to him, about what happened that night. About how Olaf got infected."

Silence fell yet again. The redhead's attention was fully focused on Elsa. She barely blinked, not wanting to miss a single word of what happened. Anything that could possibly explain it to her, she wanted to know. Elsa swallowed, before finally uttering her words.

"When Marshmallow fights, he goes all out. You know that from when we've been out, and you know to keep away from him. When defending Olaf, one infected got too close to him, and when Marshmallow struck..." She hesitated, swallowing again, forcing away the lump in her throat. _Say it. You have to now. _"... Olaf got in the way."

Anna's face continued its blank stare. It had moved away from Elsa's face for a moment, so the words could sink in. _Olaf got in the way. Marshmallow scratched him. Marshmallow infected him. _Her eyes seemed to quiver as her thoughts went on and on, going into overdrive. _He was proving he could defend himself, defend us. He was proving he'd be good for this mission. To get you where you wanted to go. _Her body began to quake this time, as her blank gaze looked at the floor. More thoughts poisoned her mind. _If we had handed you over earlier... If I hadn't accepted your request... He would still be here. My brother is dead... Because of... Because of..._

"_You!_" Anna screamed. Her once blank gaze had turned into one of pure rage. She gave Elsa a hot glare, letting out a scream when she leapt up. All of her anger and despair had built up too far, and was about to be let out on Elsa. She lunged, jumping against the blonde in the seat, much to her surprise. Elsa was helpless when Anna wrapped an arm around her throat, pinning her into a tight headlock, the other hand grasping a hand full of her blonde hair, pulling hard. Of course, she couldn't yell out, Anna's grip around her throat was too tight for her to do so. She could only flail helplessly in her arms, kicking out as much as possible, one hand desperately trying to pull the arm away, whilst the other was trying to hit her, something to get her to let go. She was struggling to breathe.

"It's your fault! You and your stupid fucking zombie's fault!_" _Anna screamed, tears running down her cheeks. She was running on pure adrenaline by this point, unable to feel Elsa's weak arm trying to pry hers from her throat, unable to hear her faint whimpers.

The doors of the van flew open. Sure enough, Kristoff was there to stop his friend. He quickly grabbed Anna's arm, using his own strength to pull her off Elsa, his other hand grabbing her hand out from the blonde's hair. "Anna stop! You don't want to do this!"

The blonde gasped once she was free, having to cough as she regained her breath. She bought up a hand to rub her head from where her hair had been pulled. The experience was painful to say the least, but almost being strangled was a worse experience. But she said nothing. She didn't react, didn't hit back, she just accepted the violence.

The redhead struggled in Kristoff's grip, frantically kicking and screaming. Tears streamed down her cheeks yet again as she tried to break free, tried to get back to Elsa. But he held her back gently, yelling above her screaming. "Calm down, Anna! Breathe a moment and think about what you're doing? Would Olaf want you to do this?"

The words cut through her, her quickened breaths began to calm, her frantic movements had stopped completely. She was reduced back to what she was at the start of the trip, a sobbing, crying mess.

It was time for more silence, more reflection. Whilst Kristoff held the crying Anna close, Elsa moved to the back of the van, sitting as far from them both as possible. She had to collect her own thoughts, hide her own tears. Many of which were already falling down her cheeks.

The guilt was lifted from her shoulders, but the tear had been made in the group.

* * *

It was nearly the end of the day. The sun was setting when they had finally made it to Southernal. They had spent more time reflecting on the day's events then what they had thought. But they had managed to drive inside the city, having found a safe garage to park in. The roads were thankfully better than Arendelle's, enabling them to drive in with ease. All that was left for the next day was to find the research centre that Elsa had spoken of.

Their journey was almost over.

Anna had remained sat in the back seats of the Minivan, continuing to cry into her am. She hadn't left that spot since they had parked. She couldn't, she was inconsolable. The grief was too much for her today. She was sick of crying, she was sick of running. She was sick of everything.

Her pistol hadn't left her hand for a while. There were times when she'd think about it, where she'd hold the gun against her forehead, or even in her own mouth. But she wouldn't. She would back out, and drop the gun to the floor. _You're such a fucking coward, you can't even do that._

_"_You know, it's usually easier to do that when the gun is loaded." The redhead looked up, spotting Elsa before her, stood by the open door of the van. She looked down to her gun. Elsa was right, in her desperation to cry, she had forgotten to load the gun. She couldn't have done it after all. It would have been funny, if not for Anna's glaring.

"What do you want?" She snapped, wiping her nose with her arm. She barely showed her face to the girl. She was at her lowest point she had ever been, she didn't even like Kristoff seeing it. But the blonde was determined, entering the van, sitting on the seat next to her. She kept her distance from Anna, allowing her space.

"I came to see how you were."

"I'm a fucking mess."

"I know how you fe-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence." Anna turned to her, giving Elsa her full attention. Unlike before, she wasn't fuelled by rage, but this time, sheer grief. The tears began to well up again. "You came to us out of nowhere. You lived alone, no family, friends, nothing. You don't know loss, you don't know pain. So don't you _dare _tell me that 'I know what you're going through' 'I understand how you feel.' Bullshit."

The blonde's once neutral expression turned to one of hurt. Deep hurt. Her shell was breaking. The shell she had been making for all the years she had been alone was beginning to crack.

The silence began again, as the blonde said nothing. She only bought her bag onto her lap, trying to rummage through for something. She bought out a small photo, handing it over to Anna to look at. She was met by a confused gaze.

"What's this?" She asked, finally taking the photo. It was old, before the world was taken over by the infection. But Anna looked intently, trying to make out the faces, to identify them. But Elsa beat her to it, giving up any mystery she once held.

"... That's me and my sister, from when we went to a fair ten years ago. It's the only picture I have left of her."

Anna's eyes widened slightly when she realised. She immediately recognised Elsa once she was told, as a small fourteen year old girl who was grinning for the camera, never looking happier in her blue dress. _Christ, Elsa actually wears dresses! _She turned her gaze to the smaller girl, who only looked eleven, blonde hair, just like her elder sister. They looked so close, so happy in this picture, both hugging closely in front of the large Ferris wheel; one Arendelle used to see each year. She couldn't help but then look at Elsa, asking "Why are you showing me this?"

"... You have noticed I've never once called you by your name, haven't you?" Elsa responded. But it just bought more confusion. Answering a question with a question just created pointless riddles.

"What's that got to do with anything?"

"My little sister's name was Anna. Just like yours. She'd probably be the same age too." Her face was finally full of emotion. Behind those glasses, Anna could finally see the different thoughts going through her mind. The sadness, the nostalgia, the slight happiness the memories bought to her. At last, Elsa had no more secrets to hide from her. She was opening the doors for her emotions to be freed.

The blonde's eyes began to well up, the lump began to reform in her throat when she looked to the picture again, wiping her eyes with her hand. "I always had my weird... Powers as such. I was born with them. They never did anyone any harm and I never did the spore thing. But one day we were fighting, hitting each other, pulling one another's hair. It was over something stupid, I can't even remember what... Just a stupid argument." She began, a slight smile appearing on her face. Oddly enough, she'd miss the pointless arguments most. But as soon as it appeared, it vanished. "... I bit her. I had no idea at the time, but three days later she... She turned. My parents restrained her and called the police, but she had already bitten them too. We were all taken into Military care. But Anna... Anna had to be executed there and then. She was deemed too dangerous. She died... because of me."

Anna's eyes softened, she looked to Elsa with her own teary eyes, welling up at her tale. _She does understand... I'm such a jerk._ She shuffled closer to the blonde, before they were side by side. She allowed her to speak again.

"I lock myself out from everyone, lock away my emotions, hide my fears all to survive in this awful world. But the truth is, under the shell I make for myself, under the tough image I look... I'm terrified. I'm terrified of hurting anyone, like I hurt Anna, terrified of making this mess worse."

An arm threw itself around her, holding her close to the redhead. All of the violence from the day had been forgotten, as the two huddled together, cuddling closely for comfort. Elsa rested a head on Anna's shoulder, nuzzling into it as she let more tears flow. Anna didn't care; she leant back against Elsa, shuffling herself around to get the best position. Her own tears fell from her cheeks as she placed the photo back into Elsa's bag, before returning to cuddle her. They never left one another's side for the rest of the night, falling asleep into one another's arms.

* * *

The huge canine had served as their guardian for that night. He had sat outside the garage to sleep, undetected by any humans. Infected only aimed for human lives, so Sven was perfectly safe from them, the only worries were rouges, the military, or The Grit. Ever loyal to his master's wishes, he had stayed up all night to watch over the group, letting out the occasional sad whimper. He too shared a special bond with the young boy. He was more playful then Kristoff, and sometimes he snuck him additional food.

His absence didn't affect the dog's keen sense of smell however. His nostrils twitched for a moment, an unfamiliar scent was nearby. The dog's hair began to stand on end again. He was growing nervous, a faint growl echoing from his mouth as he walked around the area, continuing to sniff.

He perked one of his floppy ears up as much as he could, listening out for sounds of what the scent might be.

**Thump. Thump. Thump.**

Something was approaching. Something big.

The dog walked out from the garage further, ears continuing to soak in the noise, trying their best to figure out what it could be.

**Thump, Thump, Thump.**

It had quickened in pace. It was getting closer. The dog tilted it's head, he had only heard that sound before. But it couldn't be... Marshmallow's footsteps.

**THUMP, THUMP, THUMP.**

From around one of the alleyway corners, a new form of monster had arrived. Like Marshmallow, it was a huge infected, covered in the ice-like calcium all over its arms and legs. Except it's hands and feet had formed into large blocks of the hard material, making excellent for stomping. The fingers being square in shape, like he was clearly built for smashing, not slashing. The hair was a lot longer than Marshmallow's too, but still white. It glared at Sven with its beady, glowing eyes.

Sven was wide-eyed in fear. But he knew he had to awaken his master. He barked loudly, backing away from the monster slowly, but it only responded by roaring at the dog. It raised its huge hands, slamming them into the ground at full force. Force enough to tear the earth apart around them, and make the windows of buildings nearby shatter. It was not happy.

Soon enough, all three survivors had ran out to the dog's side, only to look at the beast before them. They knew it looked so similar to Marshmallow, Elsa especially. But it was furious, angrier than anything they had ever seen.

It had slammed it's fist into a nearby building, knocking a hole right through the wall, sending a flurry of bricks out all over. And yet, it still hadn't charged yet. It looked at the group with its ever raging eyes, but didn't yet attack.

But it came close.

It was preparing itself for full sprint, roaring a final time whilst rearing its arms forward, ready to thrust himself toward the survivors, until it was stopped by one more figure who had just jumped down from the buildings. Around their height and age, it stood in front of the beast, yelling out as loudly to get its attention. She held her arms up at the beast, trying to seem as big as she could, shouting at it.

"I already told you! Humans are friends, not enemies. You're meant to listen!"

The beast let out an annoyed groan, looking back down to its hands a moment, before forcing itself to sit. The mysterious new arrival then turned around to face the group, lowering her lime green hood, looking through her black goggles toward them all. Particularly, she looked at Elsa. It was as if they'd both seen a ghost.

"Oh god no..." Elsa muttered.

"What? Who is it? Military? Grit member? Rouge?" Anna asked, clutching her pistol tightly, continuing its aim at the beast and the new girl.

"Worse." Elsa responded with, before finally walking forward, keeping her rifle up still when she looked back at Anna, before finishing her sentence. "She's my girlfriend."

* * *

**A/N Oooo the drama intensifies. Thanks guys for sticking with this so far. But the story is just getting kicked into shape ;) Also a few people have wondered the ages of people in the story, so I may as well let you know. Anna - 22, Kristoff - 24, Elsa - 24, Olaf ****_was_**** 10, Sven - 5, Hans - 26, Vanellope - 20. Other characters are in this, but don't worry, nothing will be under age or anything like that.**

**Hope to get the next chapter done in a few days. You folks stay awesome.**


	7. Military Secrets

**A/N Sorry about the short chapter here guys, but there's lots of action in chapter 8. Yall get to see The Glitch in action and everything! But for now, have some explaining.**

**Apologies if it's quickly written, I had to do this back and forth so many times.**

**A/N again - Updates could be a little slow due to some mental health issues I'm dealing with. I'm about half done with Chapter 8, for more updates, follow HellaFandom on Tumblr. Stay awesome guys!**

* * *

"You have a girlfriend?!"

"Yes. Well... Ex really."

"Hey, that's not fair, when did we agree on that?!" The black haired girl said harshly, placing her hands on her hips as she gazed sternly at Elsa. Elsa was clearly not amused, lowering her weapon.

"You left two years ago Vanellope, without a word."

"And I'm back now! Tadaa!" She threw her arms out, quivering her hands in a jazzy movement, before returning back to folding her arms, pacing by the group. All of which were looking confused.

Anna eventually lowered her gun also, registering her mind to the situation before her. _Ok, so Elsa did hang out with people before us. I wonder if this girl knows about her's powers or not though... Wait, this totally means Elsa is gay. Ok, that's... interesting._ She did however stand by Elsa's side defensively. After their chat the night before, she had come to respect Elsa as a close friend. She wanted to prove no one would mess her around while she was around.

"So, what do you want from us?" Kristoff asked, his gun still raised toward the two. The huge monster wasn't pleased to say the least, it growling lowly at the blonde haired man. This beast was far grumpier then Marshmallow was. And yet, it was passive, not reacting toward Kristoff despite the obvious threat he posed. It seemed it and Marshmallow were one of the same.

The black haired girl was the opposite however, adjusting her goggles when she turned her gaze to him, raising an eyebrow. "I wish I could say I tracked my dearly beloved to the ends of the earth to announce my true love for her, or some romantic crap like that. But I'm actually here on business. Me and my buddy Ralph here have travelled quite far to come fetch you guys. Elsa in particu-"

"Ralph... After Wreck-it-Ralph in that videogame. How did I know you'd have named him that?" Elsa said, a slight smile appearing on her face, but disappearing again as she approached the other. Vanellope was smug, but the blonde wouldn't step down easily. "Before we get to this business, there's a question I have of my own; How come you have one of these creatures?"

"A Hyperfected? Not telling. Business first. Cause, you know, the Grit are pretty pissed off that you cheated them out of a deal." She was confident in herself, far more so then Elsa. It was clear where she got her original, snarky attitude from. Although the blonde raised an eyebrow, tilting her head in confusion.

"You joined The Grit? I thought you left for the military."

"I did. Then I joined The Grit. That's actually another reason I'm here. Cause you're about to make a massive mistake."

"What are you talking about?"

"That research centre I told you about, the last place I said I was going before-"

"Before you fucked off while I was asleep? Leaving me to think you'd gotten yourself killed or... or worse?!" Elsa was furious, reaching forward to grasp the neck of the girl's hoodie, pulling her face closer to hers whilst she scrunched up her face in anger, clenching her teeth.

The ego of the black haired girl shone through as her smirk continued. She reached her hand up, placing a fingertip on Elsa's lips to quell her words. The other reached up to her goggles. "Don't worry, the worse part can't happen. Not anymore." She finally lowered her goggles completely, allowing Elsa to see her eyes.

She was met with bright blue, glowing eyes, just like her own. Elsa had remembered her eyes, they were brown, when they last met. Not this, not... "Infected..."

"No, not infected. See, still black hair!" She pointed at her head. The main sign of an infected was white hair, it was one of the most obvious ones at least. But this was absent in Vanellope's case. She smirked again. "Seems you aren't the only special one anymore."

Immediately Vanellope was released. Elsa stepped back, unable to believe the sight before her. Another, like her. Not born, but created. Questions were flowing through her mind, overloading as she thought more and more. _How?_ _She wasn't like this before... If she's like this, how many others are there?_

"A lot happened in those two years, Els. Kind of another reason I wanted to come here. Not just to see your pretty face again." The messy haired girl pulled her hood back over her head, throwing her hands back into her pockets as she half closed her eyes, it seemed she was cocky enough to risk flirting with the already confused girl.

Elsa's face instantly scrunched up in anger. She clenched her teeth as she turned away, storming toward the garage hastily. _Man, she is pissed. _Anna thought. _Then again, I would be too, if someone lead me on like that._

The redhead followed Elsa, leaving Vanellope and Kristoff outside. Although he sighed, lowering his gun at last, gesturing her to the Garage. "You'd better get in and explain yourself. But for the record, I don't think flirting is going to get you out of this one."

"Believe me, I'm gonna try anyway." She responded smugly, following the blonde and his dog indoors, leaving the huge beast outside.

* * *

"Thinking she can just walk back in, after so fucking long... And think I'll be totally fine with her like that?!" Elsa had been pacing around in the garage, kicking the odd bits and pieces on the floor in annoyance. She continued to mutter under her breath about the situation, all in Anna's view as she sat down nearby. She wanted to know more, so much more about the past to do with the new girl, but for now, she was there as a comforting hand.

"Look, maybe you and her should, like, have a talk about it? I mean, I want to know, but I have a feeling you'd want to say something to her first."

"There's nothing to say! She left me, just fucked off in the middle of the night and now she's back she's got the same infection as me? What am I supposed to say about that?"

"Gee, I don't know, '_why did you run away' _would be a good start don't you think?" Anna replied, getting up to place a hand upon the blonde's shoulder. "I don't know anything about her, but I know you well enough by now to know you deserve answers. But if you keep hiding the past away _all the time_, you won't get the answers to help you move on to the future. So I'd at least get all that personal shit out of the way first, then you can ask her all."

"... If she'll talk about it." Elsa said, looking up at Anna, unable to help smile at the warm touch on her shoulder, though when able to see from the windows that her estranged partner and Kristoff were about to enter the building, she asked. "Could you give us both a minute? She might answer if it's just us."

"Sure. I'll be outside if you need me." The redhead smiled, stepping back to open the doors. She looked right at Kristoff and Sven, gesturing him to stay outside, whilst Vanellope walked in, smug as ever. Anna looked back at the two, over to Elsa, unable to help but appear saddened as she walked away. _Hope she'll be alright... She doesn't deserve anymore hurt._

The black haired girl looked back at the two as they exited, then over to Elsa. She couldn't help but point at them when they were far enough away, asking the blonde. "What the hell's their problem?"

Elsa let out an annoyed sigh, folding her own arms. She could barely look at her, tending to stare at the floor a lot more often than the woman she was talking to, her own partner. "Can you please cut the attitude for just one second?"

"But you usually love it."

"When we're messing around, yeah sure; but you hurt me V'. Don't I deserve some answers?" Elsa asked, her hands at this point against her heart. Her expression was one of sorrow. She had experienced too much of it over the past few days. And when the other remained silent she sighed, turning away. "Forget it, it's useless trying to get something from you."

"No wait!" The girl quickly ran forward, grasping Elsa's hand to stop her leaving. Despite the blonde quickly drawing her hand out of Vanellope's grip she maintained her composure. "You're right. Leaving without saying anything was a dick-move. And I regret it, not a day goes by when I don't."

Elsa's eyebrow raised questioningly, but she remained still, wanting the girl to continue.

"But, even if I waited till you were awake, I still would have left. Because I had my heart set on it. As much as I love what we have-"

"Had." Elsa corrected.

The black haired girl's face saddened, she having to pause a brief moment before continuing. "-had, then; we have a duty to go out and do something for the world. To help it out of this mess. I tried to convince you to come with me, you remember that?"

Elsa's gaze turned to the floor again. It was true, she couldn't deny that the girl had tried to convince her to join the military with her, claiming her powers would be useful there. But Elsa hated fighting, after all that had happened to her in the past, fighting as an occupation wasn't on her list of things to do.

"But I'm glad you didn't anyway... Because that links into why I'm now with The Grit."

"Are they the ones that did this to you? Is that where you found Ralph?"

The messy haired girl paced around the room, trying to gather her story together. "I signed up, went out on my first mission. Some Hunters and Rakes got into the centre's basements. I got bitten. So I signed up for this new thing they had developed, claiming it was 'something to make us pure.'"

Elsa's head tilted, she listening intently to all the information arriving.

"So I let them test this thing on me, thinking it was a vaccine for a cure or something. Next thing I know, I'm covered in black freckles, my eyes are glowing. But I was immune to the infection. It did the trick, but..."

"But?" Elsa had sat down at this point, eyes still fixed upon Vanellope. She too sat down, finishing her tale.

"They said it didn't work how they wanted it to. That I'm not some super powerful spore-slinging warrior. A Glitch. That's what they called me, that's even how they entered my name in their database. They said it would be impossible to get it right, without being able to get a new sample from the source. Which is you."

Elsa's eyes widened. She had been taken in by the military before when her family were infected, and had blood tests taken by them when they were trying to determine what the virus was, but she never expected it to be used in this way. To make weapons. The thought that her power could be used in this way was something she couldn't stand. "So you're saying, if I did go to that research centre, they'd use my blood to make more people like me?"

"Yes. You may not like it Els', but to them, you're a super weapon. They're going to hunt you down and use that."

"So my options are, get used for my blood to create a super-army, or just kill myself now before I can make more of a mess?" Elsa asked, by this point her eyes had been welling up. All the news bought her was more upset, more reminders of how dangerous she truly was. Why she needed to be alone.

"Or... You can do what I did. Come to The Grit. Hey, you can even bring your friends."

Elsa thought about this for a moment. She had avoided The Grit for years, hiding away in her fully stocked container, away from anyone. Would she really give in this easily?

* * *

Elsa eventually joined the redhead outside, having told Vanellope she needed a moment away from her. _God, there's only so much of that girl I can take now. _It didn't matter. Soon she would be able to talk to her friend about the answers she just received. Her lovely friend Anna, whom was currently sat atop an old garbage container, happily eating from one of the cans of food they had left. Her cheeks were full of beans when she saw her friend approaching. She had to force herself to swallow quickly. "Elsa! You guys finished talking then?"

"For now, yes. Still forgot to ask her where Ralph came from." Elsa soon sat right by Anna's side, before being handed Anna's half empty tin of beans of course. She immediately began to eat, filling her own cheeks with the, rather bland, sustenance.

Anna's face had a rather unsettling grin as she stared at the blonde a moment. In her time away from her, she had been able to think about the events that had happened throughout today. One thing in particular was something she wanted to ask about. "So, you're completely gay then?"

"Shut up." Was the rather muffled response she received, as Elsa even managed to elbow her in the ribs. They couldn't help but giggle with one another.

"I'm just curious, I mean, we're friends by now, right? I can ask these things. Hey I can give you all the gossip on my relationships too."

"End of the world, zombies all over and here we are, talking about who we've been in bed with..." Elsa couldn't help but chuckle, before shoving another fork full of beans into her mouth. She did however lean into Anna, who was at this point continuing regardless.

"Well... Me and Kristoff dated, though I think I told you that before. Before that, it was a guy named Hans. At the time, total sweet heart, but then he went and became the leader of The Grit in Arendelle, since then, massive jerk. That's about it for me... I'm pretty inexperienced when I think about it..."

The blonde's mouth was still full of food, before she eventually swallowed. "Hey, I've only ever had Vanellope there. She's a good laugh, I like her attitude sometimes... She's fun, but not for me." The blonde had to think about this for a moment, looking back toward the garage where she was. She then looked back to Anna, a smile beaming on her face. "I'm not particularly bothered by it all. I'd rather just have a few friends close by; you know?"

"Yeah. I'm glad you opened up." Anna too grinned, eventually leaning against the blonde's shoulder, wrapping her arm around hers a moment. A faint blush dusted her cheeks as she did so, one mimicked by Elsa's own cheeks.

There was a pleasant silence for a few minutes, before Elsa shuffled around, jumping off the container back to the ground. The thoughts had reversed back to Vanellope's conversation with her. _If they still have some of my blood samples, they might try again. What if they get it right? _The thought made her feel sick to her stomach, but she realised. _We're right here, where all that stuff is kept. If we can sneak in, steal all my blood samples, that'll be it. They'll have to stop!_ She turned back to Anna a moment, asking. "You want to go on some kind of adventure with me? There's something I have to do while we're here and I could use the help of a smuggler."

"That is my speciality. What can I help you with?" A smirk now appeared on Anna's face. This was her comfort zone, smuggling missions. Staying out of sight, whilst getting exactly what was needed by a client, it was all music to her ears.

"You and me are heading to that re-search centre, and we're going to steal some blood."


	8. Dynamic Duo

**A/N Sorry for the lack of updates, have been off recently with mental health problems and concentration is something I'm really struggling with at the moment. But we're about half way through guys! I think I might draw some of the characters at some point so if you want to see them, I'll put them on my Tumblr, username HellaFandom**

**Oh, I will be writing a little Marshmallow and Elsa one shot at some point soon, and maybe some NSFW Kristanna for you lovely people.**

**Thanks for sticking with this so far, enjoy Anna and Elsa, a dynamic duo!**

* * *

"_The Glitch was last spotted in Arendelle, but since then has moved to Southernal. According to our sources she's searching for The Snow Queen."_

"_Hmm... I hope this is true, because then we can kill two birds with one stone, so to speak. Do you have another strain serum ready?"_

"_Yes sir, but sir I feel it only fair to warn you, the powers of becoming a Perfected seem to be different with each person. The Glitch was a monumental flaw, but so far, The Bow has rapidly increased reaction-time and enhanced eye sight. Not to mention we have been able to bond two Hyperfected with her. Not just one."_

"_And you warn me of this because?"_

"_If this gets out of hand, sir; if I make a serum too strong, we could be looking at a new threat. If someone understands the power they possess-"_

"_If you create a serum too strong, it is I that will be taking it, do you understand? I will not be second best."_

* * *

Without Kristoff or Sven, the two were superb at making their way through the city. Anna had been able to scale buildings thanks to her slight parkour skills, whilst Elsa was able to climb to and from distant areas using her extension cord-grappling hook. There was no need to kill, not when no one was in their way or even able to sense they were there. It was a sense of freedom Anna had never had before. She had done many missions with Kristoff in the past, but he never had the agility she had. He could never run up a wall enough to grab a ledge above, nor use that ledge to jump onto another, and another to climb higher and higher. But despite Elsa being a lot slower at it, or not being able to do it as much as Anna, she could at least keep up, and keep quiet. Of course, Elsa would occasionally need to be pulled up when she couldn't support her own bodyweight.

They had found their way into the city's subway systems; at this point abandoned, without any form of electricity to keep the once speeding trains moving. Elsa had told Anna of the systems below; having lived in the city for a year or so, she had a good memory of the city and how to get to places. She had remembered that the circuit systems were located in the very same building that the military were using as their research centre. Access beneath would enable them entry without causing much of an uproar.

It was perpetual darkness for what seemed to be miles, even with the two's flashlights, they could barely see through the tunnels. The redhead's eyes were dotting all over, trying to look around as much as she could. At times she would turn to see Elsa, jumping in fright, before getting back to where she was going. She seemed to have a fear of the dark.

Sensing this, the blonde reached out for her hand, holding it in her own gloved one. "I'll be right here, see?"

The words bought comfort to Anna, as she smiled. Not that the blonde could see within the darkness. However the smile soon disappeared when she tilted her head. She tapped Elsa. "Wait... I think I can hear something."

As commanded, Elsa remained completely quiet and still, allowing the redhead to listen out.

_**Sssscraaaaape...**_

_**Sssscraaaaape...**_

_**Sssscraaaaape...**_

"Rake..." Anna whispered as quietly as she could, pushing Elsa to one side of the tunnel. She guided Elsa's light ahead of them, in the direction of the noise. The source was visible before them.

A stage further then Hunters, this particular type of infected had long arms and legs. It walked on its toes, like a feral beast. Not only that, but its fingers had been coated in the calcium compound, forming huge ice claws on either hands. But its face was more terrifying. By this time, the face was nearly covered. All that was now visible underneath the calcium armour were two, glowing white eyes. And yet, despite the eyes being so vivid, the creature was completely blind.

"Don't make a sound..." Anna whispered again. She slowly made her way forward, trying her best not to make a sound with her shoes. Her movements mimicked by the blonde for every step. They got closer and closer to the creature, keeping aside so they could sneak around it. Slowly... Carefully... Closer... closer...

**SLIP**

Anna had managed to trip over her own shoes, hitting the ground with a quiet thud. But it was enough for the creature to grunt, tilting it's head toward the noise. It walked right in their direction, claws scraping the ground as it did so. It was very slow as it made its way closer, tilting its own head as it attempted to sniff the air. Did it know of their presence even at this point?

But the blonde didn't want it too close. Without hesitation she leaned down, grasping as large a rock as she could find. She then hurtled it as far away as she could manage to throw, in the opposite direction to their destination.

**CLACK, CLACK CLACK.**

The noise echoed through the tunnels loudly. It did the trick. The creature immediately turned its head to the sound, letting out a strained screech, before running in that direction. It's claws high in the air, spread to look as wide as possible. It continued its screeching and running until it was out of sight. The two breathed a sigh of relief, both looking back to one another.

"Do me a favour. Don't ever do that again..." Elsa whispered, though she was unable to help smile slightly at the girl, holding a hand out to help her up. "I've never seen one of those infected before; only heard of them."

"I've seen a few, but I've never killed one. I don't dare. They aren't as bad as the last form but... Creepy as fuck still." The redhead accepted the assistance, grasping Elsa's hand to haul herself up. The two were soon enough back on their way through the tunnels. Thankfully, there weren't many more infected on their travels. Most of the sounds that put them on edge were large rats, all running over the tracks. It was intimidating, but hand in hand the girls made their way closer to their goal.

* * *

"They've been gone a long while, huh Sven?"

Kristoff was petting his companion, having just finished his own lunch. The dog had been laying down, finally catching up on it's much needed sleep from the night before. He did perk an ear up to Kristoff's words, listening intently to him. He rolled over onto his back, close against the man, who in return chuckled, petting his dog's belly. He couldn't help but continue to stare into space however, concerned still for the location of his friends. _Anna... Where are you?_

The hulking monster of Vanellope's was also still outside, it knocking some trash canisters around the alleyways for fun. It made a lot of noise, but with the roaring it was doing, it was doubtful anyone would dare approach it. The black haired girl had finally exited the garage. She sighed deeply, her gaze constantly staring at the floor, though she could sense the blonde's gaze. She responded with her own. "What are you looking at?"

The huge monster of hers approached her, finally calming down enough to sit down by her side, acting just like Kristoff's companion as it then lay on its back. The blonde could only chuckle, even when looking back to the girl, who still looked down in sadness. "What's got you so down then Fuzz-ball?"

Vanellope ignored him at first, simply sitting herself by Ralph's side, leaning against him. She looked down at the floor, a grumpy aura about her face. "Love sucks..."

"Tell me something I don't know." He chuckled again, placing his hands behind his head as he leant back against the wall. He watched her as she looked back up toward him, her arms wrapping around her knees whilst she leant against the beast. A smile appeared when he looked back into the air. "I've been rather hung up about my friend Anna, that's the redhead, for a good few years now. Sure, we're still the best of friends, but I don't think she understands how I feel about her still. I'd give my life for her."

"Ugh, mushy stuff." Vanellope replied, trying to get back up again, although the monster placed a hand above her head, using it to keep her down. It then pointed at the blonde, giving a grumpy stare at the girl. Clearly it wanted to tell her to keep listening. _"And be nice." _"... Continue mr."

"The name's Kristoff. But yeah, I totally understand how you're feeling. Well, except I didn't exactly run off..." He could feel the atmosphere become awkward as soon as he started the sentence, as the two before him weren't happy. With another chuckle and an innocent grin, he changed the topic. "Maybe, you should tell her how you feel, you know? You may not have been together in a couple of years, but there's history. Something can spark."

"Well how come you don't? I'm not gonna follow someone's advice if he won't do it himself." She said sternly. The blonde then looked back at her, a smirk appearing on his face.

"Alright then, let's make a deal. I'll tell Anna how I feel, and you tell Elsa how you feel. Both at the same time, no backing out of it no matter what; Fair deal?"

She turned back to her companion, seeking his thoughts. The beast thought a moment, before shrugging. "Come on, surely you think something." She asked it. The creature seemed to think again, reaching one of its huge hands to its chin, rubbing it to think; before finally it turned back to her. Just like Elsa and Marshmallow, the two nodded to one another in synchronisation. Vanellope then turned back to Kristoff with a smile. "Deal."

He grinned in response, even holding a hand out toward her, his hand clenched into a fist, which she responded by tapping her own fist against it. Although before long the black haired girl did look around, asking. "Where are they anyway?"

"... That's a brilliant question." The blonde looked around the area, finally getting back to his feet to do so. He had presumed they were just eating around the corner, but when remembering Ralph's bored outburst of smashing the dumpsters around, he realised they couldn't have been nearby. Unfortunately, he knew Anna very well. Sometimes, she would disappear for a while, not telling people where she'd get to. And with Elsa being as confused as she was, his thoughts only got worse. _What if they've wondered off to that research centre? What if the military found them both? What if infected... Oh god, Anna..._ "What was the last thing you said to Elsa before you left her?"

"I was telling her about the military, about how going to that centre would be a mistake." She said, hopping to her own feet again; her own hulking monster copying her movements obediently, brushing the dust off his arms when he did so.

The blonde raised his eyebrow, confused. "... How would it be a mistake?"

"Cause it's the only place they're working on serums to make people like me, the only place where her blood samples are-" She stopped. The instant it was about to come out of her mouth, the cogs in her mind began to turn. She realised exactly where Elsa had gone. "... _Fuck_."

"What? What is it?"

"I know where they are. And we'd better get there fast." Leaving no time to spare, the girl began to run down the alleyways, allowing her monster to run after her on all fours. Kristoff and Sven soon followed behind as fast as possible. He could only think to himself what could happen. Thoughts of the redhead ran through his mind, over and over again. _Anna, please be ok..._

* * *

The halls were eerily quiet. The two had made it inside the research centre's walls without detection. Guards patrolled the halls, but they were easily taken out by Elsa's extension cord. It was an excellent way to strangle them silently. Of course, Anna had used her agility to leap on any that walked around corners, managing to strangle them in a tight headlock. Although, the horrendous noise they were plagued with in the tunnels could be heard again.

_**Sssscraaaaape...**_

_**Sssscraaaaape...**_

"... In here?" Anna whispered, eyes darting around the corridors to try and find the source. Elsa looked the opposite direction, holding her extension cord in one hand ready to throw. She looked around one of the other corners to check, but was called back by Anna.

"Els' you might want to see this..."

She turned, waking back over to Anna when called. But as she leant around the corner to see what Anna was looking at, her expression dropped. There were two more rakes, both stood beside a rather large door. But on closer inspection, this door had two chains hanging from either side of it, chains leading directly to collars on each of the beast's neck. They were being held captive.

"They're using them as guards? They're using infected..." She couldn't believe her eyes. Even with what Vanellope said, the fact that the military weren't looking to get rid of infected at all had never really hit home. _Why... Why would anyone want a world like this? How can they sleep at night knowing that people are losing their minds everyday to this disease? _The thoughts of the military were flooding through her mind, whilst Anna's were more of how they'd get rid of the creatures.

She remembered back when they got the car started up, the attack they were under. At the time, she was lucky enough to loot some of the rouges. She remembered one thing in particular she took; A grenade.

"We're going to have to be very quick to grab those samples. Cause this is going to make a hell of a noise." She exclaimed, reaching into her back to find the green orb, pin still attached. "You'll probably want to stay back."

With a nod, the blonde ran back down the corridor, keeping well clear of the redhead. She removed the pin, quickly throwing it into the direction of the Rakes. It landed right by the door, just in between them both. _Perfect._ There was no time to loose, she ran to join the blonde as fast as possible, keeping low as she covered her ears. Waiting for that sound.

**BOOM**

A shrill screech could be heard along side of it. From down the corridors, one rake could be seen falling to the ground. The blast had completely obliterated one side of its body, blowing off the shell from half its face. The blackened blood stained the corridors, but the blast had destroyed the door.

"Let's get those samples then get the hell out of here." The blonde shouted, jumping to her feet to run toward the door.

Anna soon jumped to her feet, following the blonde hastily. She couldn't help the smirk on her face when they ran. The thrill of these kinds of missions was something she always loved. And now she had someone to share the experience with. They had soon entered the room, finding it to be one that stored various vials of solutions upon shelves and shelves. Her once confident expression soon dropped. _How on earth will we find that among all this?_

"You take that side, I'll take the other." Elsa called, soon running to the other side of the room, looking closely at all the different mixtures and samples. _Ugh... I don't even want to know what some of these are..._ She thought, frantically looking through them as fast as possible.

Anna did the same, lifting up many to look through. She even climbed up to the higher shelves, knocking off any of the scrap fluids in a speedy search.

They were running out of time. Shouts could be heard from the hallways, belonging to that of the soldiers who had heard the grenade explosion earlier. But they wouldn't need it.

Among the seemingly useless jars on the top shelf, the redhead picked up one of the jars labelled 'Snow Queen'. In her delight she leant back to look at her friend, holding it out. "Hey I found it!"

The leaning would come to a cost; the shelves she had so recklessly climbed on began to lean. The jars and vials sliding out of place, crashing into the floor one by one; it created a horrendously noisy sound. Luckily, Anna had managed to jump away before it had landed on the ground with an almighty thud.

The redhead looked back around to her blonde friend, cringing when she heard the thud of the shelves slam to the floor. She looked back to inspect the mess of blood and other fluids the vials contained, now soaking into the floor. The only thing she could do was grin sheepishly at her companion, chuckling innocently. "Heh-heh... Oops?"

The shouts from down the hallway got louder, they were getting closer. Without a moment to loose, Anna reached back into her bag again, reaching around for another grenade; something, anything that could possibly get them out of this tight spot. At that point, she began to empty everything from her bag; food cans, matches, old clothes, some empty bottles, one half full bottle of gasoline, bandages. _Wait. Gasoline..._

"Hey pass me some things." Elsa called, reaching to grab the gasoline bottle and one of Anna's old shirts. She coated the material in the substance, before inserting half of it into the bottle. Instantly the redhead caught on to Elsa's plan, reaching for the box of matches.

"Be careful. They're dangerous." One of the guards outside called. A group of them by now had surrounded the door, all raising their weapons as they walked closer. They were lying in wait, outnumbering the girls completely.

But not out-witting them.

The bottle flew out into the corridor, smashing into the wall opposite. The blast flooded the area in flames, causing the guards to yell out in pain. Some even had to drop to the ground and roll when some of the flames had landed on their clothing. It didn't kill any of them, but it was enough to make an opening for them to run. And they took the opportunity to do so.

They dashed through the maze of hallways, right back to the subway entrance. There was no time to collect the belongings Anna had threw out of her bag, they needed to get out. They had been lucky as it was. Managing to dodge the oncoming guards, they finally made it through; through the doors into the tunnels, into the darkness from which they earlier emerged from. Never before had it been so welcoming.

* * *

The vial room had been completely destroyed. There were very few samples left, even fewer contained enough for any form of use. The sight of this caused one particularly old and thin woman to growl in anger. She looked over to her rather well built assistant, speaking in a rather high pitched, innocent tone of voice.

"Kronk, what did I ask you to do today?"

"... Uuuuhhh..." The rather dim-witted man responded, eyes rolling when he became deep in thought. Eventually a smile crept upon his face. "Oh oh! You told me to guard the vials."

"Very good Kronk! Now, what is it you haven't done today?"

The cogs in his mind began to turn as he became deep in thought once again. Eventually his eyes widened when he realised. "Ooooh..."

"Yes, Kronk. You didn't guard the vials!" The spindly woman shouted at his face. Despite being much shorter than him, he was easily scared by her voice. She then stomped around the room, looking at whatever flasks she had left. "How am I supposed to do anything with these? And without the girl's blood, we can't produce another serum!"

The man twiddled his thumbs, looking around the room. He picked up whatever whole vials he could find, collecting them in his huge arms. "Sooo... What do you suggest we do?"

She paused in thoughts of her own, bringing her hand to her chin, rubbing it gently. She had knowledge that the girls had gotten in using the subway systems. The systems which were powered by the fuse-boards within the building they were stood in. "We cannot let that vial get to anyone else. Power up the trains! Once they're both dead, send The Bow down there to collect the Snow Queen's remains."

"Are you sure that's a good idea, Yzma? You know what her Hyperfected are like. 'Specially that half blind one."

"Kronk." She looked back to him, anger grazing her expression. She grasped his collar, pulling him down to her level, speaking through gritted teeth. "If we don't get something to make serums with, it'll be both our heads."


End file.
